The Akatsuki's Secret
by BlackxxCherry
Summary: Uchiha Itachi one day finds a dying little girl with pink hair. Taking her back with him to the base, the members of the infamous Akatsuki soon fall in love with the young child, and decides to take her in and raise her. But no one must know about the Akatsuki's precious secret, and they'll do anything to keep it that way. There's more to the story than this, I swear. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Just something I thought of, when I was reading all these SakuraXAkatsuki fics.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 1

She tried to crawl to the nearest corner in an attempt to hide herself, but it was an attempt made in vain because her mother had grabbed her long, pink hair, yanking her back to the middle of her "punishment". She whimpered, waiting for the next wave of attacks; she was not disappointed, for not even a minute later did her mother resume the kicking and hitting. Her father, on the other hand, had proceeded to pull out a kunai. Juunko Haruno pulled back for a moment to allow her husband full access to their daughter. She locked Sakura's arms behind her back, so she wouldn't be able to fight back. But young Sakura had stopped resisting some time ago, screams dead hours before that. She had, in fact, welcomed the kunai as it was roughly pushed through her stomach. If she died, then the pain would go away, and that was all she could hope for. But Heiwa had other plans, and wounded her in a way that she would be left bleeding for a few hours before dying, completely avoiding critical areas. Smirking, he yanked out the kunai, twisting it along the way. Sakura only let out a grunt. It was like her brain had shut down her ability to feel the pain, as if coaxing her to live. Juunko then grabbed Sakura up by her hair once again, then stomped out of the room, Sakura's room, and threw her down the stairs. She herself carefully walked down; there was blood all over it. At the bottom, she once again grabbed Sakura by her hair, then dragged her body outside and towards the forest, then, once she reached the densest area, left Sakura with a last message.  
"I hope you die slowly, you disgusting monster. Heiwa and I wanted our little Seto to pass down the clan name. But since that _time, _he can never move again! Why the fuck were you born a monster? You ruined our lives, you little abomination. You and _that_"  
With a last, hard kick, Juunko left.  
The little, pink blossom just lay there on the unforgiving ground, staring up at the blue sky with hollow eyes.

* * *

Itachi Uchiha had been returning to the Akatsuki base when he picked up a large scent of blood. Narrowing his eyes, he swiftly followed the smell when he reached an area with a tiny being curled up in a ball, staring at the sky. Blood pooled underneath the body, but the child seemed to either not notice it, which was a highly unreasonable theory, or chose to ignore it. He approached slowly, careful to not receive a panicked welcome from the girl. The little girl, who had the strangest hair color, simply turned her head to stare at Itachi. This surprised him, since he had concealed his chakra, but the child paid no heed to this and spoke, her voice barely audible.  
"Are you death? Have you come to finally take me away?"  
This was yet another shock to Itachi. This little girl laying in front of him, who looked to be barely six, was calmly accessing her death in a way it might have been comical if the situation had been different.  
"No," he answered just as calmly, "I am a member of the Akatsuki. I am Itachi Uchiha."  
"My name is Sakura Haruno, Uchiha-san."  
The situation was simply a little too unnerving for Itachi's taste, so he gently picked up the girl, who seemed to weigh nothing, and swiftly carried her to the hideout nearby.

* * *

"Itachi-san, what took you so-!" Deidara immediately cut off the rest of his words when he saw a little girl in Itachi's arms, bleeding profoundly. "I-is she alright, un?"  
"Get Kakuzu and Tobi, _now._"  
"S-sure..." Deidara gave the child a last glance before tracking down the only two

'healers' in the group.  
When Deidara left, Itachi had quietly taken the girl to the main room and laid her down on the couch. When it seemed she was attempting to speak, Itachi bent down to hear better.  
"You're hands, they're are so _gentle _Itachi-san." Her voice slightly broke with the last few words. Itachi felt a wave of sorrow pass through him at that moment. Sakura painfully reminded him of his own little sibling, Sasuke, and so far, based on the things he had pieced together, Sakura had led a harsh life up to this point in time. It was at that moment Deidara had decided to crash back in, with Kakuzu and Tobi in tow. Itachi immediately took action. The child had, at most, a few hours to live.  
"Heal her." He demanded. Both Kakuzu and Tobi suddenly seemed aware of the fragile being behind Itachi, her life bleeding out of her stomach.  
"W-what happened to little girl?" Whispered Tobi. He drifted to her side, giving her a full checkup with his medical chakra.  
"I'm not too sure, but I have my suspicions. You do too, don't you?"  
"Yes, but little girl is just a _child,_"  
"Hurry up and heal her. She doesn't have too much time left."  
"Of course! Tobi will do everything to help little girl!"  
"You don't have to," whispered Sakura. She suddenly had the attention of everyone in the room. "I'm a bad girl; I made kaa-san and tou-san angry, so I deserve to die. I'm a bad daughter."  
The room was silent, shock on everyone's' faces.  
"You are not a bad Sakura," Itachi said first, "it is your parents who are in the wrong and it is they who deserve to die." His voice glinted with suppressed anger. The little girl in front of him had had her mind and morals twisted so drastically if she was spouting nonsense like how she deserved death.

Sakura shook her head as hard as she could. "No I was, _am, _a bad girl. A bad 'monster' is what kaa-san told me, so I'm a bad monster. I deserve to die. I should…die..." She trailed off, finally passing out.  
The Akatsuki members just looked at each other, shock etched into their expressions.  
"That's one deranged way of thinking, un" Deidara muttered. That, coming from a group of "crazed" murderers.  
"Hurry up Tobi," Kakuzu said. He was already at Sakura's side, attending to her punctured organs. Tobi immediately rushed to do the same. And so, the painfully long procedure of healing this broken, little body, began.

"Will she be okay, un?" Asked Deidara, almost fearful.  
"She should be in the safe zone by now. So I think so." Answered Kakuzu. Tobi had fallen asleep at Sakura's feet after he had finished the healing with Kakuzu. Itachi let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.  
"I will be with leader-sama." Said Itachi as he walked out of the room, "when Sakura awakens, inform me."  
Deidara and Kakuzu just nodded.

* * *

"Come in Itachi." Said Pein. Itachi walked into the dark room, where pain was sitting at his desk, with Konan standing behind him.  
"I am here to report the details of my mission," Itachi said, then proceeded.  
"Our...employer had indeed, planned an assassination for us. I disposed of him immediately, along with all the ninja he hired."  
"Very well, Itachi. What else did you wish to tell me?" Pein asked. Pein was known to never miss anything with his eyes. He knew Itachi had something else to say.  
"I found a child in the forest on my way back, leader-sama. She was found with numerous, very _severe, _wounds to the body, the most noticeable being a stab wound in her stomach. I have disconcerted that her parents are responsible for every wound. And by the looks of it, the girl has been going through abuse for some time now. I brought her back to the hideout to get her treated, and I apologize for doing so without your consent, but she had only a little more time left." Itachi finished.

Pein and Konan simply looked at each other, an unrecognizable look in their eyes.  
"That is fine, Itachi. Konan and I will see her later, when she is well enough."  
Itachi nodded and, taking that as a dismissal, quietly left the room. He was passing the room Sakura was held in when he heard shouting. Quickly retracing his steps, he walked briskly into the commotion.

It seemed that Deidara was arguing with Hidan.  
"What the hell is your problem, Deidara?" Yelled Hidan.  
"Shut the fuck up, un! Don't come any closer to Sakura-chan, un!" Glared Deidara. Kakuzu could be seen standing in front of Sakura's sleeping form almost protectively.  
"I just said the kid looked like a little shit ball, Deidara! I don't get what all of your fucking problems are! What the hell is so special about the brat? I mean, she fucking has _pink _hair!"  
"_Enough._" Said Itachi. He was disgusted by their behaviors. "You're going to wake Sakura up, so take your little tantrum outside Hidan. Deidara, don't make this situation any worse than it already is."  
The two instantly backed down and away from each other. And, as if on cue, Sakura began to stir in her sleep, slowly opening her eyes. Itachi was by her side instantly.  
"W-what? What happened to me? I feel so…_warm._" She mumbled, confusion etched onto her face. Slowly sitting up, she looked around the room and noticed a new person. And the first thing she asked him was, "What's that cool necklace around your neck, oji-san?"  
Hidan instantly liked Sakura better. "This necklace represents Jashin, girl."  
"Oh. What's your name?" She asked a little shyly.  
"Hidan," he answered.  
"Where am I?" She suddenly asked. She had been dreaming, and had dreamt of warm hugs and smiling faces.  
"Sakura, you are in the Akatsuki's base. I brought you here to be healed." Itachi answered for her.

Sakura was quiet for a moment, and everyone thought she was frightened by the idea of being held by the notorious Akatsuki villains. But she surprised them once again when she asked quietly, "Will you throw me out after I get better?"

"Do not worry, little one. We will not throw you out." Said a voice from behind the group. Pain walked in with Konan at his side. Sakura looked up and asked, "Really? You won't throw me away?" Everyone else looked shocked by their leader's words.  
"No we will not. In fact," and Pein looked at Konan when he said this, love clear in his eyes, "we were hoping you'd take Konan and I as your adoptive parents."

Everyone, including Sakura, gaped at this. Pein and Konan had been lovers for quite a bit of time. This was a known fact within the Akatsuki. But one thing the other members did not know was Konan's inability to give birth. A wound from an Oto nin years ago assured her of that, and she had been heart broken by the fact. Both Pein and Konan had planned to have a child, to show it love and the beauty of the world, but their dreams had been crushed by the Oto nin. Of course, he died a slow and painful death for it, but his death did not cure Konan. But now they had a kami-given chance at parenthood once again, and they weren't going to turn a blind eye to it, to _her._

"D-do you mean that?" Whispered Sakura, clearly awed. It was hard for her to process all this new information at once. One moment she was dying, ready to greet death. The next, she's enveloped in warm arms and healed upon awakening. _Then, _two kind strangers offer to be her parents. It was simply too overwhelming for one with such a young mind.  
**Don't fight it Sakura. Just accept what comes your way. **Her inner self said.

Konan cautiously stepped forward towards Sakura, opening her arms to her, and said in her soft voice, "Of course."  
Sakura wobbled off the couch, with Itachi and Kakuzu behind her to catch her if she tripped, and ran to Konan and Pein with shaky legs. Konan held her close as Sakura began to quietly sob in her arms, smiling gently. It was all she ever wanted, a child of her own. A few tears escaped her own eyes, gently rolling down her cheeks. Pein laid his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. He then addressed Itachi.  
"Prepare a room for Sakura, preferably one closer to Konan's or my own."  
Itachi nodded and made his way out of the room. Pein turned to the rest of the audience.  
"The rest of you, gather in the meeting room in 10 minutes."  
They nodded, understanding the need to leave Konan and Pein with Sakura alone for a few minutes. Slowly, they rambled out of the room as well. With that done, Pein turned back to his lover and new adoptive daughter.

* * *

"Now tell me about yourself Sakura-chan. What do you like and dislike?" Konan asked the little girl in her arms.

She scrunched her face up in thought before she answered brightly, "Well...I like hugs, and I dislikes pain. Oh, and I like you, my new kaa-san and tou-san, and Itachi-san, Tobi-san, Kakuzu-san, Deidara-san, and Hidan-san." She avoided telling her new parents about the existence of her inner self and the certain..._problem _she had. She was terrified they would discard her if they found out, just like her original parents had.  
**Are you sure you don't want to tell them? Maybe they can help you?**  
_No...no one can help me..._  
**If that's what you want...**  
Sakura actually knew who the Akatsuki were. It's not like she was stupid, no matter how timid and small she looked. But to her, anywhere and anyone were good enough. Any one who took her in was nice in her dictionary.

Pein and Konan stood still for a moment, lost in the thought that the only good things Sakura experienced in her life was they, the Akatsuki, whom she met not even five hours ago. It saddened them to no end, and they once again fell in love with this lonely, little, pink-haired girl.  
So they silently made a vow, right then and there, to heal their little girl and to never let her experience pain, ever again.

* * *

**Uh…yea…so how is it? Worth continuing? Or should I end it here?**


	2. Chapter 2

Wow…I never actually expected a lot of people to like this story. You guys can't really tell, but I'm really happy. ~(\\\0 v 0/)~

I hope I can make it as exciting as I can for you guys. :)

I had to change Sakura's age in order to make the age differences and timeframes in this fic flow better. So instead of being four, she is now six. I'll go back and fix Sakura's grammar to match her current age.

**A/N:** Bold is Inner Sakura speaking.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 2

Something poked her side, and she squirmed a little. It poked her again, and so she turned around. Then a booming voice shook her awake.

"TOBI! STOP POKING SAKURA-CHAN, UN! YOU'LL WAKE HER UP!"

Wearily blinking her eyes, she met with Tobi's mask right in her face. Startled, she jumped and accidently hit Tobi's masked face with her forehead. She distantly heard a smack in the background.

"Deidara, you're the one who woke Sakura-san up. Tobi, get away from her, you're too close."

Rubbing her red forehead, she looked up to see Kakuzu looming over her plush bed. She instantly reached her hands out, and Kakuzu leaned forward and picked her up, placing her gently on his shoulders. Laying her head tiredly on top of his, she whispered, "Thank you, Kakuzu-jisan." Falling back asleep, Kakuzu walked out of her room and into the kitchen. Plucking her off his shoulders and onto the small chair built just for her, he walked around and attempted to make breakfast. Tobi and Deidara were right at his heels, bickering like the children they were pegged for. Itachi walked in then, giving a short glance to Sakura, and proceeded to heat up some water for his morning tea.

"How is she faring?" asked Itachi quietly.

"…Okay." Replied Kakuzu. That was short for 'not well'. Itachi nodded, looking back at Sakura's sleeping form. Pein and Konan had left a day ago to learn more about Sakura, and would not be back for another week. This had greatly upset Sakura, who only had a few days to get to know her new parents. She felt insecure without the presence of her loving, adoptive parents, and had kept to herself for the majority of the day. The members of the Akatsuki had tried to distract her from her loneliness, but she had respectfully turned them down, telling them she would be a good girl and wait for her parents' arrival. Sakura only arrived at the Akatsuki's base less than a week ago, and had adapted to life with the members of the Akatsuki fairly well, though it may have been due to the fact that they saved her from near death and accepted her into their circle.

Pein had later spoken with the members of the Akatsuki currently present at the base, where the circumstances surrounding Sakura's arrival had been discussed in further detail.

"She has a strange chakra within her. It mingles with her own, so I had not detected it at first, but it is there. I want to know if it is, or will be, harmful to her." Pein had said. Itachi and Kakuzu had nodded in agreement while Tobi and Deidara had looked on in interest.

"It does not seem to be affecting her mentally or physically." Replied Itachi.

"But she shows signs of awareness. I believe she is attempting to withhold this information about herself from us; most likely to avoid rejection." Said Kakuzu.

"…Rejection will not be a problem among us, yes?" Asked Pein, almost menacingly. All agreed.

"Sakura is to be accepted among us as one of our own. _But her existence is not to be known by anyone else outside the Akatsuki. _Is that understood? She must be kept a secret, or else she may be used against us. She is our highest priority. In a few days, Konan and I will leave to obtain more information about the chakra Sakura possesses. We will be gone for a week, and during that time, I expect Sakura to be properly cared for. If you do not know how to care for a child, look it up in the study. I will not stand for any mistakes, am I understood?"

All nodded, then stood up to leave. The meeting was over.

* * *

When Konan first told Sakura that she and Pein would be leaving, she had gotten extremely upset, believing that they were abandoning her. It took a lot of consoling and promises to make Sakura believe that they would come back for her. With a teary nod, she had bid them farewell, and they left. Everyone saw how hard she tried to be an obedient child, and it was somewhat unnerving for such a small girl.

Placing a plate of suspicious looking eggs in front of Sakura, Kakuzu wandered to the fridge for his own breakfast. Tobi poked Sakura again, waking her up.

"Sakura-chan has to eat her breakfast! That way she'll have lots of energy to play with Tobi today!"

Just noticing the plate in front of her, she nodded at Tobi and picked up her fork. From the stove behind her, Itachi stared at the rest of the eggs Kakuzu had "cooked". Without taking his eyes off it, he directed his voice to Tobi.

"Tobi, don't let Sakura eat that."

"Why?" Tobi asked, just as Sakura placed a piece into her mouth. There was a loud gag noise immediately following it. Itachi sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Because it's not edible."

Kakuzu, seeing Sakura's reaction to his cooking, gruffly said, "If it's not good, you can leave it."

"It's okay, I'll eat it." Sakura said quietly after she rinsed her mouth with some milk Tobi had given her. With a slight look of determination, she forced herself to consume every morsel of the breakfast Kakuzu cooked for her.

**Sakura, even I can taste it, it's disgusting! Spit it out!**

_No, Kakuzu-jisan made it for me. I can't remember the last time someone cooked something for me, even if it's not good._

**Fine, but don't complain when you get sick.**

"Oi! Sakura-chan you'll seriously get sick, un!" Deidara exclaimed, wincing every time she tried to hold back a gag. Itachi simply stared at her, then briskly threw out the rest of the eggs on the stove, preventing anyone else from getting sick. "Kakuzu, if she gets sick, you're responsible of bringing her back to health." With that, he walked out of the kitchen with his tea in hand. Tobi helped Sakura walk to the nearest bathroom, holding her hair back as she threw up. Kakuzu merely finished off his breakfast quietly, then silently excused himself.

"Where are you going, un?" Deidara asked after him. Kakuzu didn't pause as he walked down the hall and out of sight as he simply answered, "Medicine."

* * *

It was a few hours after breakfast when the eighth member of the Akatsuki met Sakura.

Peering down at the sick form of Sakura, the only thing Sasori no Akasuna, the notorious puppet master of the Akatsuki, said was, "Can I keep her?" And the immediate response to that was a plain, "No." from Kakuzu.

"Sakura-chan is Konan-san and Leader-sama's new daughter! You can't keep her!" Tobi exclaimed from Sakura's bedside. Sasori raised an eyebrow at this, looking at Kakuzu expectantly. Kakuzu continued to stare at Sakura as he said, "Find Itachi." That was short for, '_I don't fucking feel like telling you, go bother someone else with your questions.'_

"Where is Leader-sama?"

"Out."

"Ah, I see. I will stop by later when this girl is less…sickly…" Chuckling, Sasori went off in search of Itachi; he was highly curious about the things that had happened in his absence. Tobi watched him leave, frowning. "Tobi doesn't like how Sasori-san looked at Sakura-chan."

"Shut up Tobi, you'll wake her."

"Hai!"

Closing the door of Sakura's room, Sasori went searching for Itachi's chakra. Finding it, he walked towards the main room, where he saw Itachi sitting on the couch and reading. Narrowing his eyes, he saw Itachi slightly squinting and holding the book a little too close to his face.

'_His eyes are getting worse.'_

Brushing off his thought, he walked up to Itachi and asked bluntly, "Who's the girl, and why is she here?"

Without looking up from his book, Itachi answered, "Haruno Sakura. I found her dying a few days ago. Leader-sama and Konan-san took her in as their daughter."

"Where are they now?"

"Out. Looking more into Sakura's background. Have you noticed…?"

"Her chakra? Even sick, I can sense it. Do we know what it is?"

"…There are suspicions."

"I see…any instructions?"

"Look after her. Do not let information about her escape. She is to be kept a secret."

Nodding, Sasori left, finding out as much as he needed. Deep in thought about the new addition to their group, he passed Deidara without giving any indications that he knew he was there.

"Danna! When did you arrive, un? Did you succeed in your mission?"

Ignoring Deidara, he kept on walking towards the direction of his room. Deidara followed, asking even more questions.

"Hey, have you met Sakura-chan, un? She's cute, ne?"

Entering his room, Sasori just left Deidara with a short, "She would look better as my doll."

* * *

"Kakuzu-jisan, who was that?" Asked Sakura. She had actually been half-awake when Sasori was present.

"Sasori, another Akatsuki member. Stay away from him, he's dangerous."

**I agree. I don't like the look I saw in the creep's eyes.**

Sakura looked confused, but she kept silent and nodded her head at both Kakuzu and her inner.

"When will kaa-san and tou-san return? I miss them…" Sakura asked sadly. She was staring at the walls of her room, her eyes distant, but dry.

"Later." Just then, Tobi came skipping back in, a bowl of porridge in his hand.

"Sakura-chan! Tobi made porridge for you!" Sitting by her side, he eagerly held the bowl out to her. But when she tried to hold it, it slipped from her weak hands. Catching the bowl, Tobi spoon-fed her instead. When she finished, she hung her head, hands gripping the sheets tightly.

"…Sorry for being such a bother, Kakuzu-jisan, Tobi-san. You don't have to look after me, I'm a nuisance, right?" Sakura mumbled, using the words people often labelled her as. Kakuzu was silent in thought while Tobi was loudly protesting.

"Sakura-san, if Konan-san was sick, would you care?" Kakuzu asked.

"Of course!" She replied immediately. It seemed like such a silly question to her.

"Why?"

"Because I love her! She's my kaa-san!"

"We feel the same. We care about you, Sakura-san."

"Oh…" Sakura hid her face behind her long bangs, this time to hide her blush of happiness. "I love you guys too." Tobi then reached a gloved hand out and brushed her bangs to the side. "Sakura-chan, your bangs always cover your cute face! So Tobi got this for you, but Tobi forgot to give it to you because you got sick! Here!" Pulling out a red ribbon from his cloak, he leaned towards her, and tied it around her head, using it to pull her bangs away from her face. "There! Now Tobi can see Sakura-chan's face!" Kakuzu handed Sakura a mirror, allowing her to see her new hairstyle. Peering into it, Sakura saw how Tobi neatly tied the ribbon into a large bow on top of her head, making it a cute headband. Turning to Tobi, a brilliant smile plastered on her face, she hugged him, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. This was the second thing she had ever received in her life, something that wasn't a hard blow or a glare. "Thank you, Tobi-san! I love it!" Kakuzu silently applauded Tobi. Now Sakura was distracted from her loneliness and depression. Hearing her let out a yawn, he got up to leave, silently indicating Tobi to do the same.

"Sakura-san, sleep. I'll come back later." Eyes instantly widening, Sakura shouted, "No!" and grabbed onto the ends of Kakuzu's cloak. "Please don't leave me…the dreams will take me away …"

Kakuzu stared down at Sakura, eyes softening an inch. "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." Smiling tiredly, Sakura leaned back into the soft covers, with Tobi tucking her in. Kakuzu sat back down next to her, hand lying close to hers. Her small hand found his, and she gripped his finger as she fell asleep, allowing him to feel the warmth of her skin on his.

'_Tiny…and so fragile…_' he thought as he stared at her sleeping face. Tobi had left earlier, mentioning something about annoying Deidara. Kakuzu stayed for a little while before he finally got up and left, having to gently pry Sakura's hand from his finger. A thought lingered in his mind as he left.

'_I will protect this child for as long as I am able to.'_

* * *

_Seto-kun! Look at this! Isn't it pretty? Huh? Seto-kun, where are you?_

_Nee-chan! Nee-chan, help!_

_Seto-kun!_

_Nee-chan, they're scary! Nee-chan, I'm scared! Help me!_

_Seto-kun, run away!_

_Can't, my foot!_

_Watch out! NOOOO! GET AWAY FROM HIM!_

…

…_.._

…

_Seto-kun? What happened? Where are those ninjas?_

…_S-Seto-kun? W-why am I covered in b-blood? Seto…-kun?_

_GET AWAY FROM ME! MONSTER…NEE-CHAN IS A MONSTER!_

* * *

Jerking awake, Sakura gasped, a light sweat covering her skin.

**It's just a dream, hon. It's okay, go back to sleep.**

_I-I…that dream…it's j-just…_

**Shh, go back to sleep. I'll make sure you won't have any more dreams tonight.**

Curling up, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the images behind her eyes. Her inner's soothing words soon lulled her back to sleep.

**It's just a dream, just another stupid dream… I won't let it take you away, not this time…**

* * *

**It's somewhat dull now, but I'm trying to write out more exciting chapters. In the next chapter, Kisame will finally make his appearance!**

**I'm going to hold a vote for what Sakura's secret power/curse/whatever should be, since I'm having trouble deciding it. Please comment on your favourite(s):**

**-Kyuubi**

**-Nekomata (or any other tailed beast)**

**-Secret clan power/ability (like the Uchiha's sharingan, the Hyuuga's byakugan, etc)**

**-Powers from a special object, event or curse (gems, scrolls, accident, etc)**

**-Other (please comment if you have an idea, I'll credit you if I use it)**

**I have to decide on Sakura's secret if I want to write and release the next chapter. It will also play a large role in this fanfic.**

_Jisan (short for oji-san):_ Uncle [I can't tell if its supposed to be '-jisan' or '-ji-san'. Maybe I'm wrong altogether. Someone correct me please.]

_Hai: _Yes

_Kaa-san (short for okaa-san): _Mother

_Tou-san (short for otou-san): _Father

_Nee-chan (short for onee-chan): _Older sister


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to post this chapter. My week's been busy since I'm moving next week and Anime North starts this week as well. But in return for your patience, I wrote a longer chapter. \(0 v 0)/

I went back and edited chapter one, along with Sakura's speech. So again, Sakura's new age is six.

It really, _really_ makes me happy seeing how many people are currently enjoying this fic. Like seriously, I love you guys.

Reviews are lovely guys. Reviews motivate me to write.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, the Akatsuki would be my bbys. And Kyuubi my pet.

* * *

Chapter 3

Sakura fixed her new Akatsuki clock and ribbon one final time before she spun around and ran out of her room.

"Ready!" She beamed, running up to where Itachi and Kisame were waiting patiently. Itachi handed her a small travel pack, and when it was secured on her back, Kisame picked her up and dropped her on his shoulders. Leaving the base for the first time since she arrived, Sakura realized how much she actually missed the blue skies and fresh, clean air. She nudged Kisame, indicating her desire to be put down.

"Don't wander off, kitten. Itachi and I need to be able to see you, and don't let your hood down either." Kisame said, watching Sakura carefully as she ran up ahead of them as she let out an 'Okay!'.

The group was on their way to Suna to meet their client for their newest mission, and had decided to bring Sakura along. It had been almost week since the day Pein and Konan were supposed to return, and their delay had brought Sakura down to a deeper level of depression, now truly believing she was the reason they didn't return on time, despite the frantic reassuring of the Akatsuki members. With the permission of Pein, they decided to bring Sakura to Suna in order to drag her out of her self-loathing, and disguised her under a strong genjutsu, making her appear as a scrawny fourteen-year-old boy with chocolate, brown hair sticking out in every direction to anyone outside of the Akatsuki. Sakura would later be taught how to do henges so she could disguise herself.

"Kisame-jisan, I made this for you!" Smiled Sakura as she ran back to the duo. In her hands was a neatly made flower crown. Internally grimacing, Kisame crouched down to allow Sakura to place the crown on his head.

"Only for you, kitten. Remember that."

Sakura happily nodded, then grabbed his hand, humming quietly to herself. Kisame sighed, but relented anyways.

Last week Sakura met Kisame for the first time, and their encounter had her immediately latched onto him. The first thing Sakura had said upon looking up to Kisame was, "Oji-san, you look like a fish!" Following this she slapped her hand to her mouth, looking ashamed at herself, and squeaked a small, "Sorry!". As some of the members snickered at his expense, his response was, "And who are you, Pinky?" It was fair to say that _her _response to that was somewhat amusing.

"Call me Pinky again, Fishface, and I'll punch you!" And again, she slapped her mouth shut, her face at this point tomato-red in shame and embarrassment. The comment was actually from her inner, who had momentarily took over to express her disdain with Sakura's new nickname. Of course the others didn't know that.

Feeling a large hand ruffle her head, she looked up to Kisame's sharp grin.

"I like you, kid. Welcome to the Akatsuki."

It was the first time anyone besides Pein and Konan had verbally welcomed Sakura to the Akatsuki, and the words made her belly warm in joy. For the rest of the week, Sakura had followed Kisame around like a lost puppy, evidently making the other members a tad bit jealous. Or a lot. And that fact alone had Kisame smiling smugly. Itachi had actually informed him about Sakura beforehand, and after finding out what had happened to her, he felt the extreme desire to crush the skulls of her so-called 'parents'. It was amazing that Sakura could still be as pure as she was, considering her past. It made Kisame, and most likely the majority of the Akatsuki, have a little more respect for their small blossom.

* * *

"There's so much sand…" Sakura trailed off, obviously awed by the scene in front of her. It had taken a day and a half to reach the deserts past the borders of the Fire country. Picking Sakura up and resting her weight on his hip, she wrapped her thin arms around Kisame's bulky neck, and they continued on. Sakura wasn't capable of walking the desert with her size and weight, and might literally get blown back in the harsh weather. It took another dull day to reach the entrance on Suna, the group being able to move slightly faster without having to wait for Sakura to catch up. Itachi and Kisame already had their henges up, and Kisame put Sakura down. It wouldn't do to have people seeing a grown man carrying around a teenaged boy. Showing the shinobi on guard their fake travelling papers, they easily slipped through. Sakura's eyes grew wide with wonder as she looked around the village of Suna. In truth, it was her first time being outside anything other than the Haruno compounds and the current Akatsuki base. She was never allowed to wander outside, not even around the streets of Konoha, when she still lived with her clan. She followed Itachi and Kisame as they walked deeper and deeper into the village until they reached their destination. Spotting a lone playground just by the alley they were in, she tugged on Kisame's cloak.

"Can I go play over there? You can still see me from here!" She asked excitedly. There were a few kids, and she never played with anyone other than her younger brother. Kisame glanced over to Itachi, and when he nodded his head, Kisame turned back to Sakura, gently pushing her forward.

"Go ahead. We'll come get you when we're finished." Squealing happily, she quickly hugged Kisame and Itachi before she ran off. Chuckling, Kisame followed Itachi into a back door.

* * *

Gaara looked enviously from a distance at the other children playing on the playground. He always wanted to join them, but whenever he got near any one of them, they would run away in fear. Maybe this time, they'd let him join in. Cautiously walking towards the playground and clutching his teddy bear tightly, Gaara tried to approach the group of kids. But upon seeing him, they began screaming and scattered as quickly as possible. In seconds the playground was empty. Holding in his tears, Gaara shuffled to the sandbox, as usual.

'Maybe next time…' he thought, sand slipping between his fingers. Just then, he heard a pair of feet running _towards _him. Thinking that one of the bigger kids had come back to try hitting him again, he curled into himself and covered his face with his arms. Though this was actually pointless since no one ever managed to hit him, not with his sand shield. The feet stopped right before him, and after a few seconds went by and nothing happened, he peeked a glance through his fingers. Staring down at him curiously was a young girl his age. Her hood slipped off and revealed to him soft-looking, pink hair that barely brushed her thin shoulders and held back with a red ribbon.

"What are you doing? Are you playing hide-and-seek?" She asked, tilting her head. Her voice was soft and gentle, not a trace of malice or fear in it. Lowering his arms, Gaara hesitantly replied, "N-No…?"

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she shot a hand out, scaring Gaara into believing she was about to hit him. Instead it just hovered in the hair, waiting for something.

"I'm Sakura! I just arrived here with my oji-san and nii-san!" Her hand was still stuck out, waiting for Gaara to return the gesture. Instead he blankly stared at it, confused as to what he was supposed to do with it. Seeing his confused expression, Sakura giggled, "You're supposed to shake it, silly! That's how people greet each other!"

Gaara slowly reached for it, then Sakura finally grabbed it then shook it, a bright smile plastered on her face. "What's your name?"

Still dazed at the fact that someone had actually willingly touched him, he quietly answered, "Gaara…Gaara no Subaku…"

"Gaara-kun, can I play with you? I don't know anybody else here except you, and I don't want to play by myself."

"O-Of course!" Gaara squeaked. He still couldn't wrap around his mind that someone had walked up to him, voluntarily touched him, then even asked his _permission_ to play with, all within a span of a few minutes. He had never encountered anyone like this before in his life. Sakura on the other hand, in her excitement on making her first friend (she already counted Gaara as her friend), forgot that she was under a genjutsu. In other words, telling him her actual name was a mistake. But it didn't cross her mind, and her inner hadn't felt the need to remind her. She was just as excited for her outer for making her first friend, and refused to ruin it. Dragging Gaara up by his hand, she led him to the swing set and sat down on one of the seats. She never once noticed that he saw through the genjutsu.

"Can you push me, Gaara-kun? We can take turns; you push me, then I'll push you. That way its fair!"

Shaking his head shyly, Gaara said, "I-It's okay, I'll just push you."

So for the next hour, Gaara and Sakura played and got to know one another. They were both each other's first friends, and they understood that. But Sakura never delved into her past and neither did he. They didn't want to tell each other of the monster they thought they were.

"Hey Gaara-kun, why don't you have any eyebrows?" Sakura asked suddenly.

Gaara actually thought deep before answering, "I-I have no idea…"

Suddenly she felt bad for asking, and tried to change the subject. "What's your favorite food? Mine's dango and anmitsu."

Sakura was first introduced to dango when Itachi brought her a plate one day, quietly stating they were his favorite snack, and Sakura, after taking her first bite, immediately agreed as well. Tobi had later given her some anmitsu for dessert, and she had fallen in love with it as well.

"…Gizzard and salted tongue…" Gaara answered, a light blush coloring his cheeks. He had noticed a while back that some others considered those things gross.

"Wow…I wonder if I'd like them? Next time we hang out, I wanna try some."

Gaara truly appreciated Sakura's attempt to bond with him. No else ever tried. Ever.

Suddenly a voiced was heard from the distance, "Gaara-kun, it's time to go!". Both of them looked up to see a man with sand-colored hair running towards them. Gaara instantly stood up and ran up to meet with the man.

"Yashamaru-san! Look, I made my first friend!" Gaara said, cheeks puffed in excitement. Yashamaru looked up from Gaara to see a young teenager with spikey-brown hair. It was extremely unusual for anyone other than himself to be near Gaara, so the other boy's presence was quite the surprise to Yashamaru, but he brushed it aside when he noticed two figures appearing from the alley by the playground. Out emerged two men, both sharing the same chocolate-brown hair as the boy.

"Haru-kun, we're leaving now." The thinner one of the two said, motioning the boy, 'Haru-kun', to follow them.

"Hai!" Sakura replied happily. Before leaving though, she ran back towards Yashamaru and Gaara. Giving Gaara a hug, she beamed.

"Gaara-kun, it was amazing meeting you! I hope we see each other soon!"

Gaara's face dropped a little when Sakura said she'd be leaving.

"Yeah, I hope we see each other again…" Giving Gaara one last hug, Sakura turned around and caught up with her 'family'. Gaara watched their backs until they faded into the distance, then allowed Yashamaru to lead him back to his home.

'Sakura…my_…_first _friend…' _he thought deeply.

Gaara was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't catch the hard glint in Yashamaru's eyes. _'_Tonight's _the_ night._'_ Yashamaru thought darkly.

* * *

"We leave tomorrow at dawn. When you return back to the base, Kisame and I will leave to finish our mission." Itachi said, looking down at an over-joyed Sakura. They had picked her up an hour ago, and she couldn't stop talking about her 'first friend'. It amused Itachi to see her so happy after a week of moping around. It was only unfortunate that she had to part with her friend just hours after they had met. But Itachi couldn't help but secretly admit that he was slightly concerned when he realized that Sakura had befriended Sunagakure's jinchuuriki, Gaara no Sabaku; son to the current Kazekage. But as long as he didn't hurt her, Itachi would allow him to befriend Sakura. Looking out to the setting sun, Itachi felt an ominous wind blow through the streets of Suna.

'_Something will happen tonight…'_

* * *

Sakura shot up straight, unease making her body go stiff. Something was wrong; she could feel it. Carefully peeling off the soft blankets cocooning her body, she quietly exited her room, sparing a quick glance to the one Itachi and Kisame were residing in. Sneaking out of the inn, Sakura blindly made her way down the empty streets of Suna, the moon being her only source of light. She had no idea where she was headed, only pure gut instincts leading the way. Unbeknownst to her, two figures hidden in the shadows were silently following her. Itachi and Kisame had no idea what caused Sakura to wake in the middle of the night and leave the inn, but they chose only to intervene when she showed signs of being in danger.

Sakura took note of the eerie silence in the streets. There wasn't a single sound except the quiet patters of her sandals and her soft pants. It was though even the silence was holding its breathe in anticipation. The moment she had woken up, she _knew_ something had happened to Gaara, something terrible. She soon found herself standing in front of a large building, located right in the center of Suna. Alarms were going off in her head, and her inner was shouting too.

**Here! Something's happened to Gaara right here!**

Suddenly, a terrible wail filled the silence, and Sakura sharply looked up, and spotted Gaara. She immediately concentrated chakra to her feet and ran up the side of the building. When she nearly reached the top, she found Gaara in the midst of a mini sandstorm, his hands gripping his bleeding forehead. A little away from him was the dead body of the man Sakura recalled as 'Yashamaru'. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together to realize what had happened. But Sakura's main concern was Gaara. If he didn't calm down, he would lose control and hurt more people.

"Gaara-kun! Snap out of it! It's me, Sakura!" She shouted over the harsh winds. But Gaara seemed too deep in anguish to notice her. She wouldn't be deterred though.

"GAARA! IT'S OKAY! IT'LL BE OKAY!"

Snapping his head up, Sakura got a clear view of a bloody kanji written deep into Gaara's skin, but then noticed Gaara's eyes; they were deep red in fury.

"You don't know anything!" he snarled, looking straight at her, "It won't be okay! It will never be!" Sand shot towards Sakura, and before she could even consider moving, she found herself held tight. The sand squeezed her until she found it hard to breathe. Itachi and Kisame were too far to reach her in time and as they ran closer to her, a harsh voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Another step and I'll crush her. Don't come near us!"

This had the two Akatsuki members narrowing their eyes at him. They could not afford to put Sakura in even more danger.

"G-Gaara…it'll be o-okay, I promise." Came a small voice. Gaara turned back to Sakura, hatred swirling in his eyes.

"Stop saying that! It's infuriating! It won't be okay, Yashamaru just betrayed me! He was just like the others! I was stupid enough to fall for his act, stupid enough to love him! I was never loved, not by him, not by my father, my siblings, my village, not even by my own mother!" He screamed. His skin began to crack violently, and the sand swirled dangerously around them all, and Sakura felt herself being squeezed even tighter. Itachi's sharingan swirled violently as he realized Gaara was beginning to transform into Shukaku. He was losing control, fast, and Sakura needed to be saved before she truly was crushed to death.

"But it'll b-be okay, Gaara. T-Trust me. Because I love you." Gaara's eyes grew wide, and the sand stilled midair.

"Even if the world t-turns its back on y-you, I'll be here. I'll be h-here for you."

Gaara looked like he was about to give in, but then his eyes went hard again. "Why should I believe you? You'll just betray me, just like everyone else!"

Sakura did her best to shake her head. She was starting to lose consciousness. Her inner fought to keep her awake.

"I won't. I'll a-always be here."

"Why?"

"Because," and Sakura gave Gaara a soft smile, "you're m-my first friend, Gaara; my only friend. Believe….in me."

Just as Gaara was about to say something, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed. In front of him was Itachi, sharingan spinning madly. He used Sakura and Gaara's conversation as a diversion to sneak towards Gaara, fully intending to kill him. But Sakura's little speech stopped him in his tracks, and he chose to knock out the boy instead. The sand released Sakura the moment Gaara's eyes closed, and Kisame caught her before her face met the ground. Peering down at the girl in his arms, Kisame found Sakura unconscious as well, but definitely alive, the color already returning to her pale cheeks.

"What do we do with the boy?" Kisame asked quietly. Itachi was staring at the jinchuuriki, mild interest in his eyes.

"He easily killed a jounin, and have possibly killed more up to now. Considering his age, his skills are quite high."

Kisame caught on to what Itachi was hinting at, and he agreed. "And he's not exactly welcomed here."

"I will contact Leader-sama. Bring them back to the inn."

Kisame nodded, then walked up to Gaara and hefted him unto his shoulder. As he began his way back, Itachi went some place more private. No one paid the dead jounin any heed.

* * *

When Itachi returned at sunrise, he found Sakura and Gaara curled up into each other. Frowning at the picture the two made, he woke Gaara up. For some reason, he didn't like how close he was to the Akatsuki's precious little blossom.

"What?" Gaara said darkly. He hadn't actually been asleep; he couldn't even if he wanted to. He had been content with lying close to Sakura, and was a little irked when Itachi broke the peace.

But Itachi smirked at Gaara's reaction. He didn't really like him anyways. Motioning Gaara to follow him, they stepped outside of the room. The moment Gaara left Sakura's side, she frowned and shivered. She felt cold without the warmth of someone next to her. But Kisame sat down on the bed next to her, replacing Gaara, and she opted to crawling into his lap, and quickly fell back into a peaceful slumber. It was only after Gaara and Itachi left the room that Kisame allowed himself to smile gently down at the sleeping Sakura. No one had ever been so close to him, mostly from fear of his shark-like features and blue-tinted skin. Bringing the covers up to Sakura, he whispered, "Sleep well, kitten."

"Leader-sama has given you permission to join the Akatsuki, but ultimately the choice is up to you."

Gaara had a shocked expression on his face. He was expecting Itachi to either leave him in Suna or kill him, not to give him an exclusive invitation to the infamous Akatsuki.

"What is your answer?"

"I-I…I don't think I can…" Then he thought of Sakura. Sakura lived with the Akatsuki, right? So if he joined them, he could always be with her. Decision made, he straightened up and looked Itachi straight in the eye. He had never been surer about anything in his life. "I don't think I can stay here. I wish to join the Akatsuki."

Itachi nodded in approval, then continued talking, "We'll go over the more extensive details when we reach the base."

With that done, they both reentered the room. What awaited them surprised them both; Sakura, sleeping peacefully under the covers, curled on Kisame's lap. Kisame glared at their reactions, silently daring them to say anything about it. Itachi, ignoring Kisame, motioned Gaara towards the room he and Kisame were using.

"Sleep there. No one is using the bed."

Shaking his head, Gaara explained his sleeping problems. "I do not sleep. If I do, Shukaku gains control."

Kisame raised an eyebrow at this, while Itachi calmly processed the new information.

"Well rest in the room anyways." Kisame finally said. The underlying message was there: 'We don't trust you near Sakura.'

Gaara could only glower at them as he made his way to the other room. If only he didn't agree with them.

* * *

"This is your room. If you need anything, ask." Itachi said. Gaara's room was located the farthest from Sakura's, a fact he scowled upon. It had been noon by the time they reached the base, sun high in the sky. Gaara had promptly been surprised at the vast amount of green when he first made it past the desert. Like Sakura, he never left the village. Sand was all he ever saw. He recalled Sakura asking him his favorite color earlier, and he had no answer for her. He could answer her now; green, the color of the trees and grass, the color of her eyes. Gaara watched from the side as Sakura hugged both Itachi and Kisame goodbye, wishing them luck and safety on their mission, before she quickly turned back to him.

"Kakuzu-ojisan and Deidara-kun said they'd take you shopping for anything you need. I'm coming too!" Sakura said excitedly, tugging on the hem of Gaara's shirt. Gaara had met the other Akatsuki members when they first arrived, the only ones out being the leader, Konan and Zetsu. Sakura had told him she had yet to meet Zetsu, for he'd been gone on a mission for a few weeks before she arrived. Nodding at her, Gaara placed the frame holding a photo of his mother on the drawer by his bed. It was the only thing, along with a gourd filled with sand, which he had brought with him. He still believed that his mother hated him, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the photo. Following Sakura, Gaara found the two members waiting for them patiently.

"You better not spend too much." Kakuzu growled. Gaara nodded, not paying him much attention, the entirety of his focus on Sakura, who was still chattering away. On their way down to the small village near the base, Gaara asked Sakura if she was going to get anything for herself. When she replied that she only needed groceries for dinner, he briefly wondered why she didn't want to get any clothes. Didn't all girls like shopping? When he voiced his thoughts, he saw Sakura's face contort in sadness.

"I-I'm going to go shopping with kaa-san when she comes back." Sakura said quietly, forcing herself to smile at Gaara. Gaara instantly regretted his words. He didn't know who her parents were, but he knew she missed them from the forlorn look that flashed in her eyes from time to time.

"Will you help me look for clothes? I don't know what kind I should wear in the Fire Country." Gaara asked bluntly. He had to divert her attention; he hated seeing her sad. Not to mention that Kakuzu and Deidara were pointing daggers at him. Glee replaced the sadness in her eyes at Gaara's request.

"Of course! Come on, this way!" Dragging him to the closest shop, Sakura immediately made it her responsibility to help Gaara get situated at the base, his new home. Pushing her depressing thoughts to the back of her mind, Sakura found herself enjoying the shopping trip with Gaara. She had even managed to find some beef tongues at the market, and, under Gaara's guide, she was able to prepare salted tongue for dinner, to the immense displeasure of the other members. In the end she decided she did _not_ enjoy salted tongue, and in return, Gaara didn't find the taste of dango so appealing. The rest of the evening was spent in laughter and smiles, and for just one moment, the other members silently thanked Gaara for making their blossom smile.

* * *

On his third day at the base, Gaara discovered how bright Sakura's smile could be.

"K-Kaa-san…T-Tou-san…" Sakura said, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes were huge, and they were starting to well up. The disbelief was clear.

"We're back, Sakura-chan." Konan said, a gentle smile on her face. The disbelief cleared, and Sakura bit back a sob before she was running as fast as her short legs were capable of. Throwing herself into the open arms of her mother, Sakura gave in and began to sob, face buried deep into Konan's worn cloak and knuckles white from the force of her grip. As Pein gently rubbed her back, Sakura looked up and reached towards him. Plucking her from Konan's grasps, he held her tight before kissing her forehead.

"We're home, blossom."

With Konan's soothing words and Pein's hand gently rubbing her back, Sakura's tears soon dried up. Looking up at her parents, she gave them the brightest smile Gaara had seen by far. He was entranced by it. How could someone smile so innocently, so brightly, among notorious killers wanted in almost every country? How could she be just so damn _pure_?

"You're Gaara, I presume?" Pein asked, snapping Gaara out of his trance. "I am the leader of Akatsuki, Pein, but you will call me leader. Come, we will talk."

Nodding, he followed Pein to his office, glancing over his shoulder to see Konan holding a smiling Sakura, the two seeming to be in a deep conversation.

'_She's so happy.' _He thought. _'Could I ever make her that happy?'_

* * *

It was a few weeks later when _it _finally happened. Even years after, Sakura would still shudder at it, still feel the guilt.

She stopped short, and felt her heart stop. She wanted to tear her eyes away from what she was staring at, but she couldn't.

"Sakura-chan! Dammit! Deidara cursed. He thought the door was closed.

"Don't come in." Sasori ordered. Why did she have to see this?

Despite their rushed words, Sakura felt her feet dragging her into the room, dragging her to _him._ Gaara was right behind her, eyes wide at what he saw.

"Get her out of here, she shouldn't see this." Kakuzu grunted as he tried to quell the flow of blood. Tobi agreed with him, hands glowing green. She felt someone pull at her arm, but she just shook it off. She stopped right before him and for the first time, she wished she were blind, wished she could rip this sight away from her mind.

"Kisame-ojisan?" Her voice was oddly even, but there was a strangled look in her eyes. Her heart felt like it was dying, and suddenly breathing was difficult. The room was too small, too _small._

Then she felt _it. _A small spark, a familiar feeling that made her want to throw up. It was tiny, but it began to grow bigger and bigger.

**Sakura, calm down! You have to calm down!  
**_Kisame-ojisan, he...  
_**He'll be fine! Just breathe!  
**_Everything is too small: the room, the couch, my body, everything. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't BREATHE.  
_**Sakura, if you don't calm down, **_** it **_**will come out!**

But she couldn't calm down, and her mind was reeling. She could tell, just by looking at him. No one needed to tell her.

_He's dying. Kisame-ojisan is dying. He's dying! HE'S DYING!_

Her inner's frantic words didn't reach her. She couldn't think about anything else. Kisame was _dying, _right in front of her.

The feeling grew bigger and bigger with her thoughts, her emotions. She felt like she was going to burst. She couldn't hear Gaara calling her name, couldn't hear Deidara's pointless reassuring. She didn't budge as someone tried to drag her away. She felt too large, too large for her skin. Her body was too small to contain what she was feeling. Everything was just so damn _small._

She didn't feel the chakra pouring off her skin in waves, didn't hear the gasps of everyone around her. There were more voices by now. All the members were there, trying to get her attention, trying to drag her away from the sight, from Kisame. But it was like she was glued to the floor. The chakra pouring out was sinister, it was _black, _and it was too powerful; they couldn't get near her_._ She didn't notice, didn't care. Because Kisame was _dying._

"What's happening to her?!" Gaara yelled. The chakra coming from her was so thick, so _large,_ that he could physically see the black taint, so much that he could feel its sinister presence.

"It's the beast, her other inner. Her _second _inner." Pein said, trying to think of a way to snap Sakura out of it without injuring her. It took a long time and lots of digging, but he and Konan finally found the information they were searching for. What they learned shocked them, infuriated them. He was going to call a meeting after Itachi and Kisame returned from their mission. But now…

"We're too late. It's coming out." Konan said, eyes wide in panic as she saw Sakura undergo some kind of transformation. Petal-pink hair slowly turned so pale it was almost white. She saw Sakura's emerald-jade eyes fade into a gold-amber color, pupils shrinking, and the whites of her eyes turned black. She looked like a _demon._

"Blood, there's so much of it. Why is there so much blood? Why is it so bloody? Why does it reek of death? Why is it killing Kisame-ojisan?!" Sakura screeched. "WHY IS HE DYING?!"

Finally it felt like something inside of her snapped. She couldn't feel her body, couldn't see, couldn't hear. Everything was _black. _There was nothing but black.

**Hello, Sakura-chan. We meet again.**

* * *

**Extra:**

"_A girl! She should have been born a boy!"_

"_I know!"_

…_.._

"_Did you hear? I heard that she has two 'inners'."_

"_What? How? That's not possible!"_

"_No, no! I heard that too!"_

…_.._

"_Seto-kun should have been born first!"_

"_Why her?"_

…

"_It's not fair! Seto should have had two 'inners'!"_

"_Why her? She's useless!"_

…

"_Such a nuisance! Why? Why was she born?"_

"_Why was she born?"_

"_Why was she born?"_

"_Why was she born?"_

"_WHY WAS SHE BORN?"_

* * *

Sobbing, she clutched her covers. More dreams, more _nightmares._ The tears poured down her face as she tried to muffle her harsh sobs, the sentence repeating itself over and over in her head.

"Why?"

Her inner tried to calm her down, tried telling her to forget about it. Sakura ignored her.

"Why? Why?"

The door of her room opened, and Gaara's face poked in. He had sensed something was wrong, and his feet brought him to her. When he saw her, he rushed to her bed, forgetting to close the door behind him.

"Why, why, why?"

"Why what, Sakura?" Gaara asked quietly, trying to rub her back the way he saw Pein do.

"Why was I born? Why?!"

"…What?"

"WHY WAS I BORN?" She screeched out, the tears never stopping. A hand gently touched the top of her head.

"You were born for us, to give us happiness. You are our happiness, Sakura."

Looking up through blurred tears, she saw Pein, gentle eyes looking down on her. When she heard murmurs of agreement, she saw the all the members in her room, Konan on her other side.

"I didn't know what happiness was until I met you, Sakura." Gaara said, eyes serious. More tears flowed at the words she was hearing. "You are our happiness, Sakura."

Flinging herself onto Gaara, she sobbed quietly into his shoulder.

"Arigatou, minna."

* * *

**Since you guys were so patient, I wrote one long-ass chapter (at least its long to me) instead of splitting it into two. The chapters won't always be this long.**

**Really appreciate the feedbacks on the poll guys. I've made up my mind on Sakura's secret power, as you've seen, and I hope you guys will like it.** **So I've got another poll, and I think you'll like it. I do hope I get more reviews past the range of 'update plz' and answers to my polls though. Since I love reviews. Yeah I'm a review-whore. Guilty.**

**I already have a pairing in mind, but I want to see what you guys think. Sakura's going to be paired up with someone by the end of this fic, so go ahead and choose your favorite(s):**

**-Gaara  
****-Naruto  
****-Sasuke  
****-Kakashi  
****-Itachi  
****-Deidara  
****-Madara  
****-Other**

**Sakura will not be paired with Kisame or Kakuzu because they serve as uncle-figures to her. And Pein is self-explanatory.**

**The next chapter won't be completed until after I finish moving and sort out my other stuff.**

_Arigatou, minna: _Thank you, everyone


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for such a prolonged update. Last June was full of exams and graduation. I finally graduated from high school; I'm finally done with this stage of my life. Next up, college.

In all honesty, I finished this chapter over a week ago, then found a beta. But they had to drop the chapter last-minute, so I'm posting this chapter as I wrote it. In other words, sorry for all the errors.  
I'm going to stick in random extras from time to time; they'll show snippets between Sakura and the Akatsuki, and little insights on what Sakura's life was like before. There's no other place I can stick these scenes in, so yeah.

**Bluebird208:** Yes, Sakura will eventually participate in the Chuunin exams, but that's all I'm gonna say. The rest is a surprise.  
**Littlefoxdemon:** I know it's not clear now, and not much interaction is shown so far between Sakura and the Akatsuki, so that's why I'll be writing extras here and there.  
**Less Plastic:** There's no way I could leave Gaara out - he is my favorite Naruto character after all.  
**WayuuuM:** That's actually an interesting thought. I never even considered the Sound Four when designing Sakura's second inner, but now that you mention it…

This is the age of all the characters shown so far. I changed some ages around to fit this fic.:  
Sakura- 6  
Gaara- 6  
Itachi- 13 (The massacre just happened)  
Deidara- 12  
Kisame- 23  
Sasori- 18 (looks 15-16)  
Hidan- 16  
Kakuzu- 81 (lolz wut? I never checked Kakuzu's age on wiki till' now)  
Pein- 25 (completely made this up, along with Konan's age)  
Konan- 23  
Tobi/Obito/Madara- 20 (completely changed this age as well)

**Disclaimer:** I'll be honest; if I owned Naruto, I would make kisaita (KisameXItachi) canon.

(◡‿◡✿)

**Extra:**

It worried the members of the Akatsuki, on how depressed their little blossom was without the presence of her adoptive parents. Nothing they tried seemed to lift her spirits, so Itachi thought he might share a secret, not-so-secret, with her. His..._enjoyment_ in dango. He would never say "love". He simply enjoyed the sweet snack. A lot. And everyone knew it, though he tried to hide it. It was an unspoken rule among the Akatsuki to _never,_ under _any_ circumstances, _ever,_ take Itachi's dango. _Ever. _Even Pein knew the dangers of taking Itachi's dango. The last time someone did was the last time anyone ever tried doing it. Deidara thought it would be a sort of revenge if he ate some of Itachi's dango. Everyone knew he had a thing against the Uchiha. However, it's safe to say Deidara never tried it again, after spending a month in a coma from Itachi's Tsukuyomi. No one in the base touched dango. Ever. But on this special occasion, Itachi decided to share his _precious_ dango with Sakura.

"What is that?" Sakura asked, with curiosity shining in her eyes at the sight of the dango.

"You have never tried it? Or even seen it?" Itachi asked, a little perplexed. Dango was a very popular, if not common, snack in Konoha. In fact, for someone to _not_ know the existence dango miffed him a little.

Sakura shook her head. "Back at the…clan…my meals were always brought to my room...dead animals and shrubs were the only foods I knew..." she said quietly, head hanging low. She knew Itachi wouldn't like the reply she had given him.

Itachi's eyes darkened at her words. He still recalled the miserable shape she was in when he first found her. Looking past her wounds that day, signs of malnourishment were clear on Sakura's sickly, thin body. When he first carried her into his arms, he was astounded at how weightless her tiny body was; it had nothing to do with his strength or how much lighter children usually were. She _literally _felt weightless, and he feared as though her body was brittle enough for the wind to snap it in half.  
During her first meal with the Akatsuki, she couldn't stop gaping at the sight of the food. She looked at the food with childish innocence and wild curiosity, and passed the time with endless questions and comments. When someone commented about her reaction, she simply stated that she had only been permitted to eat rice, miso soup, and bland fish when she lived in the Haruno compounds. If she behaved, she was rewarded with a peach on special days like her younger brother's birthday or celebrations. Catching the shocked and pitiful looks of the Akatsuki, she quickly tried to reassure them:

"I thank Kami-sama that I was given food at all. I read about those poor countries in my books, and none of the children there even get food. I'm very lucky!" She had said with a cheeky grin.

There weren't many in the world with a simple mindset like Sakura. Many of the members couldn't help but feel slight discomfort around Sakura. It had been so long since they had met someone as pure as her, which only reminded them of their own tainted hearts.  
It had been over a week since she had arrived, and it was a painfully slow process in introducing Sakura to the world of actual food, in their definition at least. The world of food fascinated Sakura, and she soon found herself studying the ways of proper cooking. She read about how harmful takeout food they always bought was to the body, and it became her new goal to cook healthier food for her new family. When they insisted on helping her - secretly afraid she would burn herself or accidentally chop a finger off - she only shooed them off. She felt it was her responsibility to cook for them, seeing how she couldn't do anything else for them, she had pouted stubbornly. She then distressingly reminded them of how Deidara had blown-up the kitchen last time he had tried to help, when Kakuzu had given her food poisoning, and how Tobi mixed up the sugar and salt. Needless to say, after Sakura's constant scolding, they stopped pestering her, and comforted themselves to at least watching her cook. Had Pein were to ever find out that she even cut herself; he would surely have their heads.

Itachi was brought out of his musings when he noticed the guilty look on Sakura's face, as though she was ashamed at her lack of knowledge. He placed his large, comforting hand on her small head, and she looked up at him with a tiny smile.

"It is called dango. Try them, they are sweet."

Nodding, Sakura took a small, careful bite. As she slowly chewed, an incredulous look formed on her face.  
"It's delicious!" she beamed.  
Itachi nodded in approval at her reaction.

"Do you like these too, Itachi-san?" she asked with delight.

"Yes, I quite like them," he calmly said.

Smiling, Sakura reveled in the wonderful taste of the dango, and instantly deemed it as her favorite food. She noticed early on that she preferred sweeter foods to anything else, and dango was her favorite by far. She took joy in the fact that she and Itachi shared the same favorite food. She could tell from his own satisfied face, that he enjoyed dango more than he let on.  
Later the other members could have sworn they were seeing a genjutsu, because there was _no way_, that Itachi was sharing a plate of his dango with Sakura, because that damn Uchiha never shared his dango. It was then that they realized how dangerously close Sakura was to them, if she could even make Itachi give up his precious dango. She began out as "important", but quickly, too quickly, she was becoming "precious". But they couldn't find it in themselves to care.

If someone ever told a shinobi that the most dangerous person in the Akatsuki was a cute little girl with pink, fluffy hair, they would personally admit that person to the closest psychiatric hospital. However, the Akatsuki's blossom is dangerous, the most dangerous of them all because it is her that has the whole Akatsuki wrapped around her little finger. And she didn't even know it.

The Akatsuki's blossom is deadly indeed.

(◕‿◕✿)

Chapter 4

**Hello Sakura-chan. We meet again.**

Sakura snapped her eyes open and tried looking around her. There was nothing but black; everything was pitch black. A feeling of dread sent a chill down her spine; her inner self was nowhere to be seen. She remembered this feeling. She recalled it very clearly. Quickly turning around, she was faced with herself, yet not herself. It would have been her, if it wasn't for the pale-pink hair and the narrow, piercing golden eyes amidst the black. Her second inner's appearance was indeed eerie. The grin on its face was wide, stretching from ear-to-ear. _Unnatural._

**I thank you for allowing me to come back. Without you, that other imbecile inner of yours would have held me down.**

The feeling of dread grew until her whole body shook with it, she knew what was going to happen next. She recalled what happened last time.

"N-No…you can't!" she cried out, voice shaking.

Her other inner roared out in laughter. Sometimes, it thought, her outer was extremely amusing.

**Of course I can, you let me out, remember?**

And with that, it disappeared, leaving Sakura alone once more, screaming out apologies filled with anguish no one heard. She knew what would happen next. It would be just like last time, maybe even worse. She let the darkness engulf her entire being.

_I'm sorry…_

(⊙‿⊙✿)

There were no words to explain the immense power of the black chakra radiating off of Sakura's body. There were only a few with the same amount of chakra Sakura was letting out, and those people were jinchuuriki.

'_But Sakura isn't a jinchuuriki. If she was, Shukaku would tell me.' _Gaara thought. But then he pondered on Pein's words, what did he mean by the 'second inner'? What beast? His thoughts were cut short by a low chuckle. Snapping his head back to Sakura, who was slumped forward, he heard more chuckles. They were getting louder, crazier. Her tight-looking skin began to rip, with small tearing noises that echoed in the silent, tense room. Blood began to seep out from the small rips of her skin, running down her back and legs. It almost looked like something was trying to come out_.  
_Lifting her head up, everyone saw the clear look of insanity in Sakura's eyes, and those eyes promised death.

"**Finally. **_**Finally!"**_ Shouted Sakura.  
Except it wasn't Sakura, that was obvious enough. But who was it, if it wasn't her? Glancing back at Pein and Konan, it seemed like the two knew who it was. But Gaara didn't care. All he cared about was getting _Sakura_ back, the girl full of soft smiles and bright, curious green eyes. There was a terrible tearing sound, and a sickening _pop _as everyone watched in sick fascination as a bloody, black appendage sprouted from Sakura's back. It ripped itself out of her small back, and Gaara's eyes followed something flutter at his feet; it was a bloody, black feather. Black, blood-drenched wings crawled out of Sakura's back, and the room was filled with disgusting cracking and disturbing noises as the glistening dark wings stretched itself into place, until it gave a final shake, splattering Sakura's blood across the room. Her whole back was torn to shreds, and if you looked closely enough, it looked like the bones underneath her skin were actually _moving.  
_Some people would regard women with wings attached to their back as angels. However, what Gaara saw in front of him at that moment was no angel. With blood dripping off every black feather, muscles and red stained bones moving underneath the skin, and pale hair matted with blood, its narrow, golden eyes was surrounded in an endless black abyss. The mouth stretched into an inhumane grin, and all Gaara saw, was a demon_. _Sakura was long gone, and standing in her place was a monster far more terrifying than the one residing in his stomach.  
'Sakura' let out a rumbling roar before her eyes took in the sight of the Akatsuki members with sick glee. She didn't seem to be in any pain at all.

"**Who's first?" **

Suddenly there was a scream, and then Gaara felt something warm, something wet, hit his left cheek. Reaching his hand to his face, he recoiled his hand back only to find out it was blood. But it wasn't his. Whipping his head towards the scream, he saw a bleeding Konan in the clutches of Pein, far, far away from Sakura. Konan was crumpled over her stomach, where most of the blood was pooling on the ground, and Kakuzu was by her side with her hands glowing, trying to heal her. Gaara, amidst the distraction, didn't feel the air move around him. He found himself staring into sharp, golden eyes, and just in the nick of time, his sand wrapped a shield around him, before he heard the resounding crack of someone's hand. Inspecting her bleeding, broken knuckle, she chuckled darkly. Running her tongue along her bloody knuckle, she looked directly to Gaara with bloodlust in her eyes.

"**Delicious. Fucking delicious."**

With that, she was gone again. Everyone was on their guard, looking out for Sakura. Pein, Konan, Kisame, Kakuzu and Tobi were gone.

"We must stop her. She will feel regret later." Itachi said quietly, his posture slightly stiff.

"I can see why she was so terrified of herself, un." Deidara said, hands poised and ready. They could not afford to let their guard down, even if it _was_ Sakura, or in this case, her body. Sakura flashed in front of Hidan, a feral grin on her face.

"**Boo."** She slashed a kunai through Hidan's torso. Gaara narrowed his eyes, '_Where did she get that?'_ A slight shiver ran down his spine when he heard Hidan's words.

"Dear Jashin, that fucking feels _amazing." _ Cracking his neck, he made a move to grab Sakura, but she dodged easily, then disappeared again. Reappearing behind Deidara, he barely got a curse out before he was swiftly kicked across the room. In return, he threw mini-explosives near Sakura, but far enough to avoid seriously injuring her. The room blew up, and Sakura blown through the now-broken wall from the force. The rest of the members followed; they had a better advantage in the thick foliage.

"Stay back." Sasori ordered Gaara.

"No. She is my friend; I _will_ join this battle." Gaara said, mind set.

Muttering something under his breath, Sasori picked Gaara up and raced forward, catching up with the other members.  
They followed the mess of broken trees as 'Sakura' made her way through the treetops, the force of her jumps causing the trees she landed on to break away. It turned out that her wings wouldn't be of use at all. They just lay limp across her back, but she didn't seem to mind.

"**I'm finally **_**free! **_** I'm fucking free!"** She shouted in glee. Landing on the forest ground, a large crater was formed from the impact. The other members dropped down at the same time, surrounding 'Sakura'.

"Release her." Itachi said, his voice deadly. The tomoes in his sharingan eyes were spinning madly.

"**No. Do you know how **_**long**_** it's been since I've been out? Two years! Two fucking years! And it was only for ten minutes. No, I like being out."**

The members of the Akatsuki hated it when it spoke using _her_ voice.

Dodging Hidan's scythe, 'Sakura' ducked and tried to give him a solid blow to his stomach. Jumping back, Hidan sped forward again, Deidara coming in from behind her. Jumping up off the ground, she forced Deidara and Hidan to swerve to avoid crashing into each other. When Sasori appeared from above, 'Sakura' flipped mid-air and used Sasori's body to kick off, heading straight towards the ground. But just before she could reach it, Gaara's sand shot out towards it, trying to wrap itself around Sakura's torso. Cursing, she pulled out an explosive kunai, and threw it at the sand. Sakura's body was too small and weak to handle the jutsus her second inner knew, so she had to stick to taijutsu and weapons. Flying back from the explosion, she slammed into a tree, a large crack resounding from somewhere on her body. Sakura's body was at the edge of exhaustion and almost drained of chakra; such a small, mortal body could not keep up with the actions of her second inner, but she couldn't care less. Flipping down, Sakura's feet barely met the ground before they were speeding forward again, dodging Gaara's sand on her way.

"**Why is this body so **_**weak?!"**_ She shouted in frustration, shoving a kunai into Deidara's blocking arm. Deidara cursed before jumping back, ripping the kunai from his arm.

'_It's so fucking hard to restrain that thing without harming Sakura-chan's body!'_ Deidara thought. He barely caught of glimpse of Itachi as he sped by him.

"Enough, this ends now, bakemono." Itachi said, gripping Sakura's chin and forcing her to look into his Mangekyo Sharingan, but not before she whipped her arm out and left Itachi with a nasty gash along with torso. Her body fell limp and Sasori caught her, staring at the stock-still Itachi with narrowed eyes.

'_Just what is he planning?'_ He thought.

(◉‿◉✿)

"**Where is this?"** She asked, looking up at the blood-red moon.

"My Tsukuyomi. You cannot escape." Itachi said, eyeing Sakura as she tried to dispel the genjutsu. "Where is Sakura?"

Her eyes gleamed, "Somewhere you won't be able to reach. Only I can get her out." She found Itachi's dark glare amusing, until she saw a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked.

She gave him a smirk, and Itachi wanted to rip it out of Sakura's body; it was using _her_ face to smirk at him. **"Ask your little leader. I can tell he knows."  
**Itachi opened his mouth to ask another question when a booming voice echoed through the empty space.

"**Get the **_**fuck**_** out of my mind, you motherfucking bastards!"**

Behind the both of them was yet _another_ Sakura look-alike. Except this time, she had black hair instead of pink; she still had the same emerald-green eyes though. And she looked _extremely_ pissed.

"**Sorry it took so damn long for me to regain consciousness, Itachi-san."** She said, looking directly at Itachi's red eyes. **"I didn't anticipate for the shit-faced bastard to be stronger than last time."**

"How can I trust you?" Itachi said, distrust radiating off his body.

"**You can't. But know at least this; I hate that bastard over there, and Sakura needs my help to get out."**

He didn't really understand what was happening, which was infuriating to the young prodigy. But his only concern at this point was Sakura, so he had no choice but to ally himself to this new Sakura. Nodding at her, she positioned herself next to Itachi, both facing the other Sakura.

"**It's time for you to go back to sleep, Sleeping Beauty."** Sakura's inner taunted.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura's second inner shouted back, **"I will **_**never**_** go back!"**

"**That's too bad, honey. This is my mind, my **_**domain. **_** Even Itachi-san doesn't have complete control here, even if it is his Tsukuyomi."**

Itachi mentally raised his brow at this new piece of information. It seemed that Sakura's inner personality was strong enough to overcome and dominate the effects of his Tsukuyomi.

Taking a step back, the second inner screamed, **"I WON'T GO BACK!"**

(⊙︿⊙✿)

Itachi blinked, and found numerous pairs of eyes staring at him anxiously. Just a few minutes ago, the unconscious Sakura in Sasori's arms returned back to normal, hair fading back to its usual rosette color and skin turning back to a peachy tone. They assumed her eyes changed back as well.

"…She is safe, and the other Sakura is sealed down once more."

"What happened, un?" Deidara asked frantically. His poorly bandaged arm was limp on his side.

"We must get Sakura to Kakuzu and Tobi first. She is severely injured." Sasori said quietly. He felt odd, looking at Sakura's mangled body. Her whole body was covered in torn skin, blood and minor burns. Her Akatsuki cloak and shirt was thoroughly ripped apart and her back…he didn't want to recall what her back looked like after her wings had retracted back into her body. They had wrapped it as best as they could, and it was like it was the only things holding her together. Nodding, everyone made their way back to the base. Gaara lagged behind everyone else, eyes downcast.

'_I couldn't protect Sakura. I'm too weak right now, too young.' _ Looking at the backs of the Akatsuki members, one thing crossed Gaara's mind.  
'_So big…Their backs are large…'_

And so, Gaara vowed to get stronger, for himself, for _her. _ He vowed to become strong enough to protect her from herself.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

It felt like she had been there for days, in all the black. She thought she had run out of tears, but every time she thought about what her second inner could and would do to her family, she found herself in a torrent of tears once more.

"**Sakura?" ** Came a voice. Sharply turning her head towards the voice, Sakura found a mangled and tired-looking inner. Throwing herself onto her inner, she cried into the comforting shoulder. Her inner stroked her head, whispering soothing words.  
"**I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to stop her. I'm sorry for leaving you alone."**

Shaking her head furiously, she whispered, "There was nothing you could do to stop her. She's getting stronger." Her inner nodded her head in agreement.

"**Sakura…I'm going to be disappearing for a while."** Her inner said hesitantly. Sakura began to panic, just like her inner anticipated. She spoke quickly before Sakura could interrupt her.  
"**It took all my chakra to stop her. So I'm just going to need to recharge. I won't be gone, not really. I'll still be inside of you, you just won't see or hear me. I'll try to be back as soon as I can."**

Sakura nodded in understanding, but it didn't stop her tears from overflowing.

"What am I supposed to do without you?" She asked desperately. For as long as she could remember, her inner was always with her. She was there to comfort her when she cried, was there to cheer her up when she was depressed; she was the reason why Sakura made it through the years without completely breaking apart.

Hugging Sakura gently, her inner said, **"You have the Akatsuki. You have your kaa-san and tou-san, Kakuzu and Kisame-ojisan. You have Deidara-kun, Sasori-san, Hidan, and Itachi-san. And you have Gaara-kun; your first friend. You don't even need me anymore, now you have a real **_**family."**_

Sniffing, she held onto her inner tightly.  
"Of course I'll need you. I'll always need you." Pulling away from her inner, she felt the need to give something to her, for always being there for her.

"C-Can I give you something? Before you leave?"

Her inner was confused as to what Sakura could give her; she couldn't receive anything physical past hugs or things like such.

"Saki."  
"**What?"  
**"Saki, it'll be your name."  
"**Why? I'm you, why would I need a name?"  
**"Because…because even if you're me, you have your own awareness. You can think separately from me, and you have your own opinions. You're like an extension of me, but you're not _completely_ me. You even look different! You deserve an identity of your own, your own name." Sakura said, her stubbornness kicking in.

Her inner had tears forming at the corner of her shocked eyes, mouth slightly hanging open. An inner was not supposed to be considered a separate being; they do not posses a name of their own. Yet here Sakura was, the first of the Haruno clan to give an inner an _identity._ She could only smile brilliantly, body radiating in joy. Sakura had never seen, or felt, her inner so happy before.

"**S-Sakura…I-I don't know what to say. T-Thank you…" **

She and Sakura intertwined their small hands together, foreheads touching.

"**Saki…for 'blossom' and 'hope'…it's beautiful."  
**"You were my hope for all these years. And we are both blossoms of the Haruno clan. I thought it'd suit you."  
"**We're one and the same, yet at the same time we are our own person."  
**"Even if you're gone, you'll be here with me."  
"**But I'll be back, I promise."  
**"Ja ne, Saki-chan."  
"**Ja ne, Sakura-chan."**

With their farewells, Saki slowly faded away, her face mirroring Sakura's with tears pouring down her face.

_**I'll come back for you.**_

ʘ‿ʘ

When Sakura opened her eyes, her vision was clouded with tears.

_Saki?..._

Pain gripped her heart at the lack of a response. She knew she'd be back, but it didn't make the pain any less worse.  
She didn't know why, but she was facing down on her bed, her pillow smothering her wet face. Trying to turn around, she felt a pain so immense it left her breathless.

'_W-What happened to me?_' She thought, panicking.  
'What if's' were tossed around in her head, and she grew more panicked by each one. If she was injured to this extent, who knows how badly she had hurt everyone else? More tears blurred her vision and she silently sobbed into her pillow. A hand softly stoked her head, comforting her.

"Sakura-chan, you okay, un?" Deidara asked quietly. He had been watching over Sakura when he saw her suddenly crying.

"D-Deidara-kun…?" Sakura turned her head to look at Deidara. She saw the bandaged arm he had tried to stealthily hide behind him, and began to cry even harder. It was all her fault. Her precious people were hurt because of her.

Deidara started panicking. He had no idea why Sakura was crying even harder now. No, actually he did know, but he couldn't handle crying girls.  
'_What am I supposed to do, un?! I wasn't trained for this! Why do girls always have to cry?!_' He thought frantically. His internal rant was cut short by Sakura's desperate voice.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm so s-sorry."

Deidara looked down at Sakura, sadness lacing his voice. "Sakura-chan…"

But she continued, completely lost in her guilt.  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, _so, _sorry." She sobbed, her voice cracking at the end. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

It broke his heart, seeing Sakura like this. All he could do was rub soothing circles on her back and whisper what he thought were words of comfort. Exhausted, Sakura eventually fell asleep.

"I'm sorry…" She mumbled, one last tear sliding down her face.

(⊙﹏⊙✿)

So yea, I think I'll end the chapter here. Guys, I can't write fight scenes. Like a seriously cannot write them, and I find them utterly boring *flips table* (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻.  
Even when I'm reading other fics I always skip the long fight scenes. Even when I'm watching or reading Naruto, I skip the fight scenes. So please don't kill me for the horrible one in this chapter.  
Honestly? I wanted the fight scene with Sakura's second inner to last a shitload longer. It would make more sense, considering her power. But I can't write it, I am so, so, sorry. I even skipped the battle in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. I didn't have it in me to write it. I'm just so terrible at it. Sorry. You guys really won't be seeing many fight scenes in this fic. Cuz I suck at it.

Oh, and I randomly decided that I'll name all the females born to the Haruno clan after flowers, hence Sakura's comment on the whole 'we're both flowers from the Haruno clan' thing. Her mom isn't a Haruno, so she doesn't get a pretty flower name.  
And just to be honest with y'all, I'm naming Sakura's inner 'Saki' because I don't feel like writing 'Inner'. That's my reason.

I kind of hope the whole bloody wings scene was gruesome enough for some of you guys. I was too tired to think of anything more gruesome, so yeah. I know how lots of anime, manga and even fics make the whole 'growing wings' thing so graceful and shit. I don't like that. Then I remembered a scene from an X-men movie I can't recall atm where a boy is trying to cut off these stubs on his back that ends up as wings, and the scene looked pretty bloody and gruesome, and I was all like, "Omg, that's awesome". So I thought I'd try to go for something like that.

Btw, if someone can guess the monster Sakura has, they get, I dunno, a virtual cupcake? Yeah, lets go with that. I don't think it'll be that hard to figure out, I mean, I gave away a huge hint. If anyone says angel, when it was _clearly_ described as not, I'll be sorely disappointed.

Anyways this was the result for the pairing poll. And again, regardless, I already have the pairing figured out. Sasuke got a bunch of votes despite the fact he hasn't made an appearance.

Gaara- 15  
Sasuke- 8  
Itachi- 6  
Naruto- 4  
Madara- 2  
Sasori- 2  
Deidara- 2  
Kakashi- 2  
Multi- 3

_Bakemono: _Monster  
_Saki: _Means 'blossom' and 'hope'


	5. Chapter 5

I am so late in this update and I am so sorry about that. I've been here and there, and when I did have time to write, I couldn't write well at all. I've just started my first year of college, and I'm still getting used to the difference between high school and college schedules. I seem to be having a better time at writing, so I was finally able finish this chapter, yay!

I'm kinda surprised no one guessed the demon in Sakura. Well, you'll find out in this chapter anyways!

Oh and there's a new character appearing in this chapter! And uh, it may be a bit dull and long in the beginning of this chapter. Sorry. Oh, and there'll be some grammar mistakes here and there. I rlly need to get myself a beta….

**Amara-nii chan & Shadowlove'scookies: **Omg, thank you. You guys have no idea how much your comments makes me happy, because I am so self-conscious about my ability to write fight scenes.

**Disclaimer: **I only own this story and Sakura's second inner.

(⊙△⊙✿)

Chapter 5

"The meeting is now in session." Pein said. Everyone was present, including Zetsu, who had arrived in the morning. "We will now discuss the circumstances surrounding Sakura." Everyone nodded solemnly. "Before any of you interrupt, Konan and I will explain what we know as of far."

"Haruno Sakura: born on the twenty-eighth of March as the first child and heir to the Haruno clan heads, Haruno Heiwa and Haruno Juunko. Her younger brother, Haruno Seto, was born two years after, on the seventh of October. Haruno Sakura developed the clan's kekkai genkai at the early age of three, and showed potential signs of high intelligence. During the winter of her fourth year, she was kidnapped by the legendary saanin, Orochimaru, and underwent a series of illegal experiments. Orochimaru had Haruno Sakura kidnapped because of the rumors of the youngest kekkai genkai user of the Haruno clan, and had hopes to successfully use her in his experiments. One month after she was taken, Orochimaru succeeded in transferring something into Haruno Sakura. It is assumed to be a beast, but not a tailed beast. For reasons unknown, Orochimaru left Haruno Sakura at the gates of Konoha two months later. No physical injury was found on her person. A few days after she went through interrogation, Haruno Sakura was discovered to have amnesia, and could not recall her memories from the last three months. Haruno Sakura was to be put under the watch of ROOT for a minimum of one year, on orders from Danzo, on suspicions that Orochimaru would return for her. It was found that six months afterwards, Haruno Sakura developed a second chakra source on top of the one she already had. Haruno Sakura was shunned and isolated by the Haruno clan, with the exception of her younger brother, Haruno Seto. Suspicions has been made that the origins of her new chakra source is the unknown beast Orochimaru put in her body. One month later, Haruno Sakura relinquished control of her kekkai genkai when she and Haruno Seto were attacked by rogue nin, and confirmed beliefs when a beast was released instead. In five minutes, she killed all four of the rogue nin, all assumed to be at least of chuunin level. She also harmed Haruno Seto, who received a large gash wound on the spine. It is unknown as to how she regained control and consciousness. The incident was reported to the Sandaime when a chuunin found them, and the legendary saanin, Jiraiya, was called in to place a seal over the beast. The members of the Haruno clan have repeatedly abused her after that, and she has shown no sign of resistance. Haruno Sakura was taken out of the surveillance of ROOT since then. Two years later, Haruno Sakura was reported to be dead by the Haruno clan in an act of suicide by drowning. Her body was never recovered."

It was obvious that Pein was reciting the words of the file he found on Sakura, but its content made some eyes grow wide.

"That's fucked up, un." Deidara commented quietly. Ignoring him, Pein went on.

"That is the only report I found on Sakura. It was in the possession of ROOT, instead of the Hokage. This is what we found on the Haruno clan's kekkai genkai, the Suketton. It is not an extremely powerful kekkai genkai, nor is it an offensive type. It allows a person to access and develop what you could consider a second chakra network; very similar to a jinchuuriki's second source of chakra. The Suketton acts as a second 'power source' for the user, and upon accessing it, the user's physical appearance may change. This kekkai genkai generally develops in a clan member as they age, and the amount of chakra the Suketton can hold varies. Its blood has been diluted through the many generations, gradually growing weaker, so many of the clansmen do not have a large second chakra source." Pein explained. Konan continued on after him.

"But for Sakura, it was different. She developed a more powerful Suketton than any other in the clan. The blood of the Suketton was much more prominent in her. She also received the kekkai genkai at a much earlier age of three, whereas the average age is around ten. It caused uproar among the clan. We also found that in the Haruno clan, only males were recognized as heirs, but it was never made official. In truth, the first-born is the heir, and since Sakura was born first, she was to be recognized as one. But like in the Uchiha clan, newborns were usually male. In Sakura's family line, she is the first, first-born female to be born to the heads of the clan. But they have been used to male heirs for too long, and rejected Sakura. They treated her younger brother, Seto, as the heir instead, disregarding the clan rules and traditions, and shunned her. When Sakura seemed to develop a second chakra source, it made most of the clan members jealous. Two chakra sources has never been heard of with the Suketton. But of course, they realized the truth after she lost control. That was when…the abuse began."

Unable to continue, Pein went on instead.

"After Jiraiya placed a seal on Sakura, the clan was confident the beast in Sakura would never be released under any circumstances. Using that to their benefit, they began to use Sakura as a source of release. All the frustration and anger that had built up since her birth was finally channeled through abuse. Sakura was never permitted to leave clan grounds anyways, and no one was supervising their actions. So no one ever found out. She continued to be abused unknowingly, and eventually it got out of hand, to the point that their intent switched from abusing to killing. We can assume that the day Itachi found Sakura was the day they intended to fully end her life. As of now, Konoha believes her to be dead. A report on the funeral was in her files. It says that not one Haruno, with the exception of Seto, was seen shedding a single tear. Seto is also now paralyzed from the waist down, and incapable of pursuing a career in the shinobi arts. It may be one of the reasoning factors of Sakura's abuse."

"What we will now discuss is the demon. From...recent events, it is clear that the demon is stronger than in the past. There were no reports of Sakura sprouting wings the last time she lost control. We also do not have the identity of the demon. It has been confirmed that she holds no tailed beast, yet there is not a single piece of evidence that could lead to its identity. But since we witnessed black wings along with pale hair and change in eye color, our best guess is that Sakura holds a tengu demon inside of her. There is not much known about the other rare demons in this world past the tailed beasts, so from now on, any knowledge on them must be found and studied."

Every one paused for a moment to ponder. They knew of the jinchuuriki and they knew the consequences and advantages that came along with it. But a tengu is not a tailed beast, so it could not be assumed to work the same way as them. They only knew that when the tengu was in control, it was able to merge its skills with Sakura's body, though having to compromise their vast strength and speed since Sakura's body was underdeveloped. But nothing else could be assumed, since Sakura had the seal and no traces of the demon could be found otherwise.

"The seal on Sakura is also weakening, which I can assume the reason for is it is because of her aging. She was supposed to receive a new seal, but news of her 'death' prevented Jiraiya from getting to her sooner. There is also the fact that none of us are familiar to the saanin's level of sealing. We need time to study her current seal and to design a new one for her, since we cannot allow anyone, let alone Jiraiya, to know she is alive. For now Sakura is to be trained, as a proper kunoichi and her kekkai genkai must be trained to be of further use to her. Itachi will be in charge of training her Suketton and genjutsu. Kisame, you are to train her in weapons, Sasori in speed, strength and chakra control, and Deidara in basic survival skills along with long-distance combat. Hidan and Kakuzu, you are to overlook her taijutsu and basic combat skills. Zetsu, you are in charge of ninjutsu. Konan will teach Sakura the Academy basics, and when she is ready, I will train her in her designated chakra nature."

Everyone nodded in agreement. If Sakura were to survive in their world, then she would have to become strong.

"If Sakura can reach the level of jounin in terms of skills and strength, then...controlling the demon may be considered. But anything below that is unacceptable. But if the demon can be controlled and utilized to her disposal, then it may be of greater benefit to her safety and to us. Is that understood?"

Nods could be seen around the room. If Sakura could reach a certain level of strength that would enable her to control the demon in her, not only would it forever solve the problem of her losing hold of the demon, but also it could be used for the benefit of the Akatsuki. It's not as though they wanted to use Sakura as a tool for their own selfish needs, but if she wished, Sakura would be able to take on missions with the rest of the members, allowing her to become a true shinobi, not just a hidden girl who had the skills to be one. Itachi and Kisame knew upfront the potential Sakura held from her little performance in Suna. They needed to assess her current abilities and level before training could start. There were no records of her receiving training from the clan, so where she got her abilities from was unknown.

As everyone left the meeting room, one small figure waited outside, his stance firm in resolution. Entering, Gaara found only Pein left.

"You wish to become stronger as well, yes?" Pein stated rather than asked.

"Train me. Train me so I can become stronger, so I can protect her."

"Very well. I will have you train separately from Sakura. For now, Sasori will train you when he is not training Sakura. When I think you are ready, I will put you with Sasori and Deidara, and you will follow them on missions."

Gaara, satisfied with his training, left, leaving Pein to think.

(⊙ω⊙✿)

"Sakura-chan, un, here's your dinner." Deidara said quietly as he entered her room. Sakura sat on her bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of her. She sat there, unblinking, seemingly in a daze. "Sakura-chan..."

It had been a week. A week since then, and after crying to Deidara, she hadn't said a word to anybody, not even Gaara. Every day Kakuzu and Tobi would work on Sakura's wounds, but healing was slow. Usually Sakura healed fairly quickly, with the help of her inner. But with Saki gone...she healed like a regular villager. But she didn't care about her wounds, barely even thought about them. All she could think about was Deidara's arm, and everybody else's wounds. All the members had visited her at least once so far, and instead of their relieved faces and constant chattering, all she ever saw was each of their wounds, small or big. One look at her mother, Konan, set her to tears all over again. All the bandages wrapped around her stomach made Sakura's own stomach curl in despair. Just what had happened when she blanked out? No one would tell her. So she shut herself in, and refused to speak a word. Despair in her downcast eye, figure hunched over and still; that's how Sakura had been for the last week. All the members felt like it was the first week all over again, the first week she'd been with them. Except it was worse. She wasn't just quiet; she was silent. She wasn't acting all shy and embarrassed; she wasn't moving at all. And so, after a week of putting up with her new behavior, the Akatsuki decided to use the same method they used the last time to cheer her up; taking her out of the base.

Much to the displeasure of the other members, Itachi and Kisame were the ones to take her along once again. They had decided that since they were the ones to take her out last time, she'd be more comfortable with them. This time, they had to meet with Danzo, their newest client, at a place near Konoha. And like before, Sakura would tag along.

"Ready?"

Sakura gave the barest of nods before tagging behind silently behind the duo. Another week, and Kakuzu and Tobi had been able to finish healing Sakura. Another week, and the most she had uttered were, 'sorry'. Today Konan had dragged her out of bed and dressed her in some travel clothes and her cloak before setting her in front of Itachi and Kisame, both of which were ready to leave.

Picking Sakura up, they sped through the trees. Their base was fairly close to Konoha, so it wasn't a long trip, maximum two hours. They'd be meeting Danzo in a teashop, then they'd move the meeting to an exclusive place. But Danzo was from Konoha, and of all the villages they had to hide Sakura's existence from, Konoha was the most important, for obvious reasons. Again, Sakura was put under a high-level genjutsu, and this time, she was disguised as a twenty-year-old woman with pale-blonde hair and purple eyes. If anyone asked, she was Itachi's lover and sister to Kisame, all of whom where on their way to Konoha for vacation.

"We've already memorized your chakra signature, so as long as you don't go too far, Kitten, then we'll be able to locate you. Meet us at this teashop in three hours. We should be done by then." Kisame instructed. Nodding, Sakura watched as they put up their own henges. Itachi appeared to be a man in his mid-twenties, with dark red hair and brown eyes. Kisame looked to be about thirty, with dark blonde hair and the same purple eyes as Sakura's. Dropping her off a little ways away from the teashop, she watched them walk towards an old man with lots of bandages. Turning around, she walked until she reached the edge of the small town, and made her way towards the forest. She needed time to be alone, to just think.

Back at the base, she was never alone for long. People always kept her company, particularly Gaara, Tobi and Deidara. She didn't have enough alone time to really think about her situation. But now was the perfect time to do so.

Allowing her feet to take her wherever, she found herself at the edge of a small stream. Squatting down, she looked at the reflection of her disguise. Petite, blonde, beautiful. Then she thought about herself; tiny, pink, and drab. Sighing, she dipped her hand into the cool water, reveling in the feeling.

So many were injured because of me...if only I had been strong enough to hold it back...if only I was strong enough to protect the people I love, then this wouldn't have happened...if only I was stronger...

Thoughts of strength weighed her mind, unaware of the training plan the Akatsuki had planned out for her. That was, until a cry of pain reached her ears.

Was that a person? Or an animal?

She was always told not to approach any strangers. But she simply couldn't leave an injured being alone. Maybe...maybe like Itachi had for her, she could save a life.

Carefully, Sakura walked towards the area she thought she had heard the cry from. But second thoughts entered her mind. What if it was a foreign nin? What would she do then? Should she just leave now? But before she could go back, she spotted a distinct yellow color from the greens and browns of the forest. Quietly crawling forward, she parted the bushes to find a severely injured young boy. A boy who looked just about the same age as her.

Panic filled her mind, trying to find a way to heal him. His broken figure reminded Sakura of herself, and pushing down painful memories, she desperately tried to heal him. Without the help of Saki, there wasn't much she could do, and her own chakra reserves weren't that big. But reaching into her memories and remembering the feeling of her own body healing after every beating, chakra naturally flowed through her hands, and without realizing it, his wounds began to close, little by little. Sweat formed on her brow as she attempted to keep his life going.

After a few minutes, Sakura found herself unable to continue. Her breathing was harsh now, and she was concentrating on sitting upright. Bringing her hands away from his body, she leaned back against a tree, hoping, praying even, that he didn't die. A cough later, and her mind was at rest. The boy was still injured, but it wasn't life threatening anymore. Closing her eyes, Sakura fell into a light sleep, a smile on her face, the first in two weeks.

She had been too busy to brood over herself, and she had saved a life. She couldn't be happier.

"Hey, hey you aren't dead, right?" A voice called out to her.

Rubbing her eyes, Sakura woke up to the same boy, whose face was right in hers.

"Too...close." She said wearily. She was still tired from healing. Sitting upright, Sakura stared in curiosity as she looked over the boy. All his wounds had somehow closed already.

"Hey, are you the one who helped me? I found you sleeping here next to me when I woke up? Was it you?" He asked.

Dazed, it took Sakura a few seconds to process his words. "Um, yes?"

She grunted as the boy wrapped his arms around her, before stopping and pulling himself back before she knew what had happened.

"Uh, sorry, for hugging you. You don't want me to touch you, right?"

"Why would I care about that?" Sakura asked, confused.

"But, I'm-" He started before he was interrupted by Sakura.

"Who are you anyways? I'm Sakura."

"You don't know who I am, really?" The boy asked, confused yet excited.

"No, am I supposed to?"

"N-No, not really. I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed. He was really excited. Not only was Sakura really pretty, she also helped him and she didn't know he was the demon container of Konoha. "Can...can I call you Sakura-chan? You can call me Naruto-kun, if you want."

Nodding, Sakura was still staring at Naruto's healed wounds, but decided not to ask. It happened to her too, it wouldn't be too strange if others did it too.

"Do you know how long I was out?" She asked a grinning Naruto.

"Uh, well I'm not too sure since I woke up ten minutes ago..."

Looking up at the sky, Sakura guessed maybe a little over two hours had passed, which meant Itachi and Kisame would be back soon. Looking back at Naruto, she asked, "Where do you live? I can walk you back to your parents if you want."

At that, Naruto suddenly looked away from Sakura.

"I-I live alone. I don't have any parents."

Wanting to hit herself for such careless words, she asked Naruto if he wanted her to walk him to his place. Again, another downcast look.

"I-I can walk back myself, I don't want to be a bother..."

"It's okay, I have a lot of time before I have to go. How far is your house from here do you think?" Suddenly, Sakura thought of something important.

How did Naruto-kun get here so wounded? How did he get hurt?

Pushing down any thoughts that she may say that would make Naruto uncomfortable, Sakura listened as he attempted to recognize his surroundings.

"So you're lost?" She asked bluntly.

"O-of course not!" Naruto argued at an unconvinced Sakura. Sighing, he gave in. "Yeah, I'm lost".

"Follow me then. I'm in the town right by this forest. We'll go there and ask how to get to Konoha. You live there right?" At Naruto's nod, she went on.

"I have two hours until I have to go back, so I'll take you to your house. You just finished healing and I don't want to leave you to go back alone."

She knew she wasn't supposed to enter Konoha, but she'd be damned if she let anything happen to Naruto. Besides, she had her disguise.

Walking back to the town she was earlier, Sakura noticed the strange looks and glares sent their way. It was weird, considering that no one even blinked her way when she was there earlier. So she made an obvious assumption that the villagers were not pointing looks her way, but to Naruto instead. She didn't know why, but she could tell that Naruto himself noticed the stares. How could anyone be oblivious to them?

So instead of questioning him, Sakura allowed herself to settle with glaring back at the people. She would not let her new friend be treated badly in front of her, regardless of the reason. Yet as they walked through the town, Sakura made closer observations of Naruto, and found herself finding many old scars and day-old bruises. How she didn't notice before, especially when she was healing him, she couldn't understand. Naruto's scars reminded her of her very own ones.

Remembering Konan's reaction to her scars when they were bathing together made her wince. After they had gotten out of the bath and dried and dressed themselves, she had gone straight to Pein, and Sakura remembered eavesdropping on their conversation. Konan had been yelling angrily at Pein, tears in her eyes. Pein had only held her and whispered words that Sakura assumed to be words of comfort as she had walked away, upset. Her old scars had upset her mother to the point of tears, and Sakura had wished she had had the ability to erase them.

Pulling Naruto into an empty alley, Sakura decided that she had to ask him, had to confirm her thoughts.

"Naruto-kun, who gave you these scars? How did you end up in the forest, alone and wounded? Please, you have to tell me. I won't get upset, and I won't leave you alone. No matter what you tell me, I won't abandon you." Sakura pleaded. If Naruto was being treated badly at home like she had been, then there was no way she'd allow him to go back. She would never send him back to a place that mistreated him.

"Sakura-chan...I-I don't think-" He was cut off once again.

"Naruto-kun, tell me."

Giving in, he told her everything. He told her, with tears refusing to fall, how he lived alone, how he had never had any parents since birth, how he was treated since he was born, how the villagers hated him, how they spat on him, beat him up. He told her how a few villagers made a final decision to get rid of him for good. And he told her, his voice a bare whisper, how he held the nine-tailed beast, the kyuubi; he told her he was a jinchuuriki.

(⊙︿⊙✿)

"Kitten, who's the brat?" Kisame said, a growl in his voice. Sakura wasn't even of age yet, and boys were already swarming her.

"This is Naruto-kun. He's my new friend, and he's coming with us." Sakura said with a tone that left no room for argument.

"Sakura..." Itachi started. He knew the Uzumaki kid. He did come from Konoha after all, and who in Konoha wasn't aware of the village's own jinchuuriki? But as he stared down at both Naruto and Sakura, he couldn't help but want to sigh. It was obvious that Sakura wouldn't accept any answer other than a 'yes', and the whole purpose of her tagging along was to snap her out of her little stupor. And anyone could see the look of defiance in the little, pink-haired girl. There would be no talking it out with her.

"We will bring him to Leader-sama. If he allows Naruto to stay, then so be it. If not, he will be escorted back home, all memories of the Akatsuki erased."

Sakura nodded in agreement. But there was no way she would allow her father to say no to Naruto. She was 'daddy's little girl', and she intended to use the title well in convincing him to allow Naruto to stay. She downright refused to allow someone who went through a painful life so similar to what she had, to go back. Never.

As they made their way back, both Itachi and Kisame carrying Naruto and Sakura, for they were too tired to make it back on their own feet. When they were close enough to the base and within the barrier, Sakura's genjutsu was cancelled and Itachi noticed how Naruto had no reaction to her change in appearance.

Just like with Gaara...they do not see the genjutsu placed upon Sakura, even though it is strong enough to fool even Anbu...do jinchuuriki have the ability to see through such jutsus? Or perhaps it is for another reason...

Reminding himself to look into it later, Itachi discarded his thoughts as they made it to the entrance, copying Kisame's actions and putting Sakura down.

"Naruto, I will take you to Leader-sama. From there we will see what will happen."

Sakura watched as Itachi led Naruto away, and she tightly clutched Kisame's hand for support.

"Tou-san will let Naruto-kun stay, right? He won't let him go back to that horrible village, right jisan?"

Kisame could only look down at their little blossom in sympathy. "I don't know, Kitten..."

He led Sakura to the main room as he silently gestured to the members present, and so for the next half hour, they did their best to distract Sakura.

When Naruto ran into the living room with one dull-looking Uchiha behind him, an ear-splitting grin on his face, Sakura could only let out a disgruntled squeak as she was being hugged to death.

"I can stay! I can stay, Sakura-chan! I don't have to go back!" He said excitedly, jumping up and down. Laughing, Sakura couldn't help but hug him back. When Pein walked in a few minutes later, he found himself catching Sakura as she flung herself towards him

"Arigatou, tou-san! Hontou ni arigatou!"

Pein could only smile as his blossom gave him a bright smile, one he hadn't seen for quite a while. Letting go of him, Sakura rushed back to Naruto.

"I have to introduce you to everyone! But first, let me introduce you to Gaara-kun! I'm sure you guys will get along!"

After finding Gaara in the training grounds, Sakura ran towards him, shouting happily.

"Gaara-kun! Gaara-kun, I brought home a new friend!"

Turning around, Gaara smiled as he saw Sakura's smiling face. But as soon as he saw Naruto, his expression quickly turned into a frown.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Naruto-kun will be staying with us from now on!"

Gaara looked Naruto over, before letting out a short, "I'm Gaara." and turning back to resume his training. Sasori had been present the whole time, and he could only mimic Gaara's action with a cold stare towards Naruto.

"Sakura, you brought home another stray?" Sasori said, allowing himself to smirk at both Naruto and Gaara's glare towards his direction.

"Sasori-san! I didn't know you were here too! Um, this is Naruto-kun. He'll be staying with us from now on." Sakura said nervously. She still felt a little cautious around Sasori, but after a few visits from him when she was bed-ridden, she had got to know him a little better. But she had never got used to his staring.

"Yes, so I heard," Sasori said in a dull tone. He didn't like how close the brat was to his blossom, and looking at Gaara, it seemed as though the boy felt the same way. "But the boy and I have to get back to training, so if you'll excuse us..."

Before Sakura could leave with Naruto, Gaara put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan, I'll be finished in an hour. Do you want to go to the clearing with me afterwards?" He asked a little shyly. He felt that he didn't get enough time with Sakura lately, though he'd been in her room constantly when she was recovering. But since she hadn't been herself, it didn't really feel like he was spending time with Sakura.

"Sure! The thee of us can go then!" Gaara's mouth turned a little down at that. He wanted to spend time with Sakura, not with Naruto.

"Yatta! We'll all hang out together!" Naruto exclaimed happily. He never had any friends before, so it'd be his first time having out with other kids his age. He wasn't too sure why Gaara looked disappointed when Sakura claimed all three of them would go, but he didn't care. He'd be spending more time with Sakura, and that was more than enough.

What both Gaara and Naruto weren't planning on was for Sakura to have a plan to have them bond. Later when they were all in the clearing alone, the Akatsuki deeming it safe and close enough for them to go alone, Sakura called the two of them over, then promptly pushed them into the little stream, laughing and running away. The two of them had a special bond that only existed with other jinchuuriki, but they had to realize that by themselves. Though Sakura could strongly relate to the both of them, she could never truly understand the pain of being a jinchuuriki. Together, they could share their pain and sorrow, and understand one another. In a way, Sakura was slightly jealous. Running back to the base, she decided she'd focus on making a huge dinner to celebrate the newest member of their odd and dysfunctional family.

(⊙‿⊙✿)

"Get off me!" Gaara grunted, half submerged in the cool water underneath Naruto.

"I'm trying!"

"You're heavy! Get off right now!"

"It's really slippery here! Wait! Gaara I said wait-"

As Gaara tried to stand up and shove Naruto off at the same time, a startled fish jumped out of the water and landed straight on Gaara's head as they both slipped and fell over each other again. Taking one look at the disheveled Gaara, Naruto burst into laughter. Gaara, after finally grabbing the fish and throwing it away, looked at Naruto and began to smile, and soon enough, began to laugh as well. Laughter filled the empty clearing as the two boys helped each other up and dragged themselves to the grass, lying on their backs.

"This is my first time playing with someone. I've always been alone up till' now, until Sakura-chan found me." Naruto said after a while. He wasn't sure why he was willingly sharing this with someone he just met, but he felt a sort of bond towards Gaara. He felt the need to share some things with him.

Quiet, Gaara finally responded, sounding a bit hesitant. "I used to be alone as well. Though I had a family, I was always alone, and I had no friends. The first person to play with me willingly was Sakura."

"Sakura saved us both, ne?" Naruto said, letting out a short laugh. The atmosphere was slowly becoming more and more serious. It was time to talk.

Taking a silent breath, Naruto was the first to announce his secret.

"I'm the jinchuuriki for the nine-tailed beast, kyuubi. I've been alone my whole life, and my village hate me."

Sucking in a breath, Gaara could only stare incredulously at the boy next to him. Naruto took his reaction to be negative, and tried to explain himself before he lost his only other friend.

"I-I never knew I was a jinchuuriki until I was four; one of the villagers that was beating me let it out. He was drunk. B-But I've never hurt anyone. I don't have any parents, and I lived alone. And I-"He was cut off as Gaara shared his story in a small voice.

"I'm a jinchuuriki too. I'm the container for the one-tailed beast, shukaku. My family and village hated me, and my tou-san has sent people to kill me more times than I can count. I am my village's weapon, but they feared me for my power. No one would ever go near me, and the one person I thought I could trust tried to kill me the night I met Sakura. Even my kaa-san, who died while having me, hated me. That's why she gave me this name, Gaara."

Naruto was silent for once, pausing to really look at Gaara for the first time, as Gaara did the same. A boy the same age as him. Small, weak and lonely. One feared and hunted, the other hated and abused. Both a jinchuuriki.

They lay down on the grass once again, staring up at the setting sun, neither uttering a word. They shared the pain of being a jinchuuriki, they understood one another. What else could be said?

~(⊙︿⊙✿)

Pein sat in his office, thinking. If the boy, Naruto, was trained along with Sakura and Gaara, then the trio could form a three-man genin team. As official genins of Ame, they could enter other villages and gather intel for the Akatsuki. As much as it would benefit them, Pein could only ask his daughter if she would become a wiling participant. He didn't want to send her out into the shinobi world, but she could only do so much being protected for the rest of her life. And from Itachi's report, Sakura had much potential for the shinobi arts. Sighing, he leaned his head against his lover, allowing himself to enjoy her presence.

"What do you think?" He asked. He had shared his thoughts with Konan, and now awaited her thoughts. They were discussing the future for their daughter after all.

"If Sakura-chan wills it, then it shall be done. But I will not allow her to enter our world unprepared. Is she is to be trained, she must be trained to her fullest potential. I refuse to lose her through some stupid slip-up.

Pein agreed. If Sakura wanted to be a kunoichi, then she had to be the best of the best.

"Then we will move bases to the one in Ame. They will train there and familiarize themselves with the villagers, so that they will be known as shinobi of Ame. When they are ready, they will use their guise of Ame genin in order to take 'official' missions from me."

"Then who will be their sensei? Who of the Akatsuki are suited for the role?"

"The members are too busy with their own missions to become their sensei. I was thinking someone outside of the Akatsuki, perhaps an appropriate missing nin?"

"Like?"

"I was thinking someone like…"

~(◡﹏⊙✿)

**Okay so how was it? I was iffy on how I'd have Naruto make his appearance, and although it wasn't exactly what I was thinking, I'm pretty okay with it. I know there was a lot of boring stuff, but I needed to get that out of the way before continuing the plot. Oh, and this is by far the longest chapter I've ever written.**

**I'm just gonna go ahead and put this out here.**

**What are your thoughts of me adding in a bit of BL/yaoi into this plot? I didn't really plan for it, but I got the sudden inspiration to add it into the story. There won't be any mature stuff, just some fluff. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I mean boyxboy. Just a thought. If the majority of you aren't okay with it, then I'll just scrap the idea. But I really wanna try it out. I won't tell you the pairing though, and there'll be no hints of it for some time. Because once it comes out, you'll know who Sakura will be paired with, and I want to keep it a surprise for the time being.**

**I'm working on both the mini-fillers and the next chapter, so give me some time. Hopefully, since I'm really in my writing mood, I'll get them up within 2 to 3 weeks. Because college tends to take away most of my leisure time.**

**And for anyone who did not understand or skipped the explanation on the Sukketon, in a nutshell, its a kekkai genkai that give's a person an extra chakra supply tank, and when they tap into it, their appearance changes. It's like Naruto's second supply of chakra that he gets from the kyuubi.**

**I have absolutely no idea on who I want as their sensei. Please give me ideas. No, I will not be using any of the Akatsuki as their sensei. I want to bring in another character, but I don't know whom. So comment! **

**Who do you want to see as their sensei? (No, I will not choose someone like Kakashi or any of the saanin)**

_Yatta- _Yay, yes, hurray

_Hontou ni arigatou- _Thank you so much

_Gaara- _A demon that loves only himself (is the wiki answer, for those who may be wondering why Gaara mentions his own name in this chapter)


End file.
